Sam Sills confesses mixed emotions after narrowly missing out on Olympic medal

Sam Sills confessed to a mixture of emotions after narrowly missing out on a medal on his Olympic debut.

The 31-year-old windsurfer from Launceston made it through to the iQFOiL semi-finals but finished fourth, denying him the chance to compete in the medal race.

It left Sills fifth overall and though he was naturally disappointed at his near miss, he reflected with pride on his overall performance in Marseille.

“I was just in the moment, enjoying it, giving it everything I had,” he said.

“I just want to thank everyone who has helped me get here and supported me.

“The race was so intense, it felt like I was inches away from a medal.

“In a split second at the top the race was gone. I don’t know if I’m gutted or not yet, it was all just a big blur.

“Four years of preparation for that one final. I’m so glad to have got through the quarters and finished in the top five but I was so close to a medal.”

Sills gave himself work to do after finishing 21st in the opening race of the week but flew up the standings as he improved through the regatta.

Had he made it to the medal race, he could have benefited from his discipline’s contrasting format which sees the slate wiped clean – other classes carry points forward from prior races.

Sills’ compatriot Emma Wilson said she was ‘done with the sport’ after her bronze, the 25-year-old having topped qualifying before being edged out in the medal race as she was left to settle for bronze.

Sills’ bravery paid off in the quarter-final as he flew past Nicolo Renna but he couldn’t quite force history to repeat itself in the semi.

“I didn’t have an amazing start but I’ve raced here so much over the last three months,” he said.

“I’ve lived around the corner for the last 100 days and I felt the wind on the right hand side so I decided to make an attacking move and it paid off.

“I then felt the wind slightly left so I took that and sailed as fast as I could and hoped for the best.

“I concentrated on my speed down the last run and managed to get past the Italian on the last reach.

“I’m elated I think. I’m a bit disappointed but I’m happy to have made it this far and I’m proud to be here.”

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