Olympic sailors experienced a whirlwind with Thursday’s series of events.
The men’s and women’s skiff finals, also known as 49erFX, were officially called off — after two failed attempts on the men’s side — due to insufficient wind off the Marseille coast during the Paris Games.
“It looked beautiful when the boys went out on the water, right in front of the audience in glamour sailing conditions, but unfortunately the wind died and you’ve got to accept it,” said Annette Duetz of the Netherlands women’s team, Reuters reported.
Spain’s duo, Diego Botin and Florian Trittel — ranked No.1 in the medal race — snagged an early lead in the inaugural regatta attempt.
However, the race took a quick turn as the bust of wind they held onto faded.
“We have always known that you can get a day like this,” Botín said, per Associated Press. “We are always trying to refocus on what’s next.”
The three-time Olympian added that he and his teammate were focused on “not wasting too much emotional energy” during the long wait.
All of the athletes — clinging to a thread of hope — were left waiting in the water for hours on end, enduring the scorching heat and blazing sun.
The women, who never took off, stood by at Marseille Marina.
Temperatures were pushing 35 degrees Celsius — 95 degrees Fahrenheit — according to the Associated Press.
After patiently baking in the hot sun, the competitors took the start line for the second time.
Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken of the Netherlands came out hot but unfortunately for the Dutch duo, it wasn’t long before race officials waved the flag.
“The wind was just going further and further away from the shore. The race committee was trying to chase it, but every time they tried to do the race the wind was just disappearing,” said Dominik Buksak of Poland.
“It’s quite an emotional rollercoaster, you get so close but we’ll reset and look forward to tomorrow,” said Isaac McHardie of New Zealand, which was third entering the medal race.
Both races have been rescheduled to Friday.
