Kontides rises to second place, kitesurfing makes debut

Kitesurfing made its Olympic debut on Sunday as men and women took off on feather-light boards to cheers on a Marseille beach, their huge, arching kites propelled by a sometimes-strong Mediterranean breeze.

The competition was held in rapid-fire mode, and spectators on both sides of the breakwater were treated to spectacular performances by some of the world’s top competitors. Adrenaline-filled sport.

Austria’s Valentin Bontus won the sport’s first Olympic race in the men’s event and Britain’s Eleanor Aldridge won the women’s event as kite sailors flew by protected by helmets, goggles, life jackets and wetsuits.

World champion Max Maeder of Singapore won the second men’s race, while France’s Lauriane Nolot made her mark in the 16-race women’s series with a popular local win.

Further out in the Bay of Marseilles, Italy’s Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti dominated the mixed foiling multihull races to take more wins in the series. New Zealand’s Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson also performed well, setting a record of several seconds in their large ‘Cat’ multihull.

In other men’s sailing events, there was some fluctuation at the top of the leaderboard, with eight of the 43 men penalized for crossing the finish line at the start of the seventh race in the series.

Britain’s Micky Beckett was among those feeling the pain, dropping to fourth overall, while Australia’s Matt Wearn retained his overall lead despite being two tenths adrift.

“He’s got two really tough races ahead of him and he’s been pretty good so far and has been the most consistent player so far. But every day has its twists and turns and tomorrow will be no different,” Beckett said when asked if Wayne could catch him.

The remaining two medal preliminaries are scheduled for Monday, with London 2012 silver medalist Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus closest to Wynne on points. ahead of Peru’s Stefano Peschiera.

“I can describe it as a roller coaster ride of emotions,” Peschiera said when he returned to shore.

“The whole fleet is pushing the envelope… You know you need to be cautious and not make serious mistakes.”