2024 Olympic Qualifications
Qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games began at the 2023 Sailing World Championships in The Hague, Netherlands. At the end of the event, the top-ranked 16 countries in each of the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 fleets were awarded Olympic qualification. Subsequently, seven places will be distributed to the highest finishing and not previously qualified countries at the 2024 ILCA 7 Men’s World Championships and 2024 ILCA 6 Women’s World Championships.
Each ILCA continental qualification event will award two quota places for each of the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes, with the exception of Asia, which awarded one quota place at the 2023 Asian Games in China and will award two quota places at the 2023 Asian Sailing Championships in Thailand.
Host nation France has one quota place reserved in each of the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes. The remainder of the total quota places for all classes will be awarded to the eligible nations at the Last Chance Regatta, 2024 Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, as part of the World Sailing Emerging Nations Program. For more information about the Paris 2024 Olympic Games sailing competition, please visit the official World Sailing Paris 2024 website. You can also find the official notice of race here.
ILCA 6 Qualified Countries
ILCA 7 Qualified Countries
Qualifying Events
2023 Sailing World Championships – The Hague, Netherlands | August 10–20, 2023 | Quota – 16 M, 16 W
2023 Asian Games – Hangzhou, China | September 19–27, 2023 | Quota – 1 M, 1 W
2023 Pan American Games – Santiago, Chile | October 28 – November 5, 2023 | North American Quota – 2 M, 2 W | South American Quota – 2 M, 2 W
2023 African Continental Qualifier – Soma Bay, Egypt | December 1–9, 2023 | Quota – 2 M, 2 W
2023 Asian Sailing Championships – Chon Buri, Thailand | December 10–21, 2023 | Quota – 2 M, 2 W
2023 Sail Sydney – Sydney, Australia | December 11–17, 2023 | Quota – 2 M, 2 W
2024 ILCA 6 Women’s World Championships – Mar del Plata, Argentina | January 3–10, 2024 | Quota – 7 M, 7 W
2024 ILCA 7 Men’s World Championships – Adelaide, Australia | January 24–31, 2024 | Quota – 7 M, 7 W
2024 ILCA Senior European Championships – Athens, Greece | February 16–23, 2024 | Quota – 2 M, 2 W
2024 Semaine Olympique Française – Hyères, France | April 18–27, 2024 | Quota – 3 M, 3 W
Information on French Olympic Week can be found on the event homepage.
ILCA in the Olympics
History
The single-handed ILCA dinghy is one of the most popular boats in the world, due to its accessibility and simplicity. The ILCA 7 made its Olympic debut as the men’s “Laser Standard” class in Atlanta in 1996, and the ILCA 6 as the women’s “Laser Radial” class in Beijing in 2008. Because ILCA is a one-design class, all athletes competing in the ILCA 6 or ILCA 7 at the Olympic Games use the same universal equipment provided by ILCA-approved builders.
Two sailors hold the title of double Olympic medalist in the ILCA 6 class: China’s Lijia Xu, who won bronze at Beijing 2008 and gold at London 2012, and Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom, who won bronze at Rio de Janeiro 2016 and gold at Tokyo 2020. Only one sailor holds the title of triple Olympic medalist in the ILCA 6 class: Marit Bouwmeester of The Netherlands, who won silver at London 2012, gold at Rio de Janeiro 2016, and bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Three sailors hold the title of double Olympic medalist in the ILCA 7 class: Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie, who won silver at Atlanta 1996 and gold at Sydney 2000; Slovenian Vasilij Žbogar who won bronze at Athens 2004 and silver at Beijing 2008, and Tonči Stipanović of Croatia who won silver at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Only one sailor holds the title of triple Olympic medalist in the ILCA 7 class (and double Olympic medalist in the Star class): Brazil’s Robert Scheidt, who won gold at both Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004 and silver at Sydney 2000.
Lastly, Australia has won the Olympic gold medal three Games in a row in the ILCA 7 with three different sailors: Tom Slingsby at London 2012, Tom Burton at Rio 2016, and Matt Wearn at Tokyo 2020.