Gimson and Burnet pleased to have wind in their sails at Paris 2024

John Gimson and Anna Burnet felt lucky to have the wind in their sails to stay in touch of the medal places after a opening day of racing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The pair sit sixth in the standings after three races thanks to finishes of eighth, fourth, and sixth but there is still a lot of sailing still to happen with nine more races to go until the decisive medal race.

Conditions have been difficult so far during the regatta in Marseille, and Leicester’s Gimson insisted the duo are ready to battle whatever is thrown at them in search of a medal.

He said: “We feel kind of lucky we had wind to get going today. We were after a steady start. I think we got one, so, happy enough. “I think probably the strongest team is going to win. I can see with the forecast looking light at the end of the week, it can be pretty mentally challenging.  I'd say it would be the strongest team who's the most all-round.” Winds have typically been light in Marseille so far, with a number of races delayed or postponed because of insufficient gusts. But there was plenty of push power for Gimson and Burnet’s first day on the water, as they seek to upgrade the silver medal they won at Tokyo 2020. “It was windy and wavy today, which I guess the Olympics hasn't seen so far here in Marseille,” added Burnet. “For us I think we just wanted to be fast but safe. Day one, no one wins the event, so it's just about getting some steady results, which we did. It was a fine day. We've not won and we've not lost, so keep going. “It’s a good start, solid start. We're happy with the day, we were fast. It doesn't always go your way, it's really tricky racing, but we'll come out fighting tomorrow.”

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