Sailing in the Paris Olympic Games

NEWSnet International Correspondent Ryan Thompson takes us on a tour of the sailing central for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Transcript

00:00 "Welcome in Marseille, we're in the South Bay, which is the Olympic Bay."

00:05 They may be called the Paris Olympic Games, but when athletes descend on France in one

00:10 year they'll see much more than just the Eiffel Tower.

00:14 "Marseille and Calanques, so it's in the whole South Bay and we will have all the Olympic

00:21 classes running at the same time for the two weeks."

00:25 France's second largest southern port city will be ground zero for sailing.

00:30 It's known for powerful mistral winds, and sailors from the U.S. are already learning

00:35 to contend with them.

00:36 "But they're a lot of fun, but scary.

00:39 We were here in April, so we had longer mistral days, but now it's a bit shorter."

00:44 The winds average around 30 miles per hour, but sometimes can blow much faster.

00:49 "It's a lot of different conditions, you can get from 6 knots all the way up to 40 knots

00:56 on some days, so it's a mix of everything."

00:59 Teams from as far as China and New Zealand are spending hours out on Marseille's open

01:04 water.

01:05 Olympic organizers even scheduled a test event this summer to see if sailors could handle

01:10 the course.

01:11 "We had half a regatta that went well and fell short for the second half, so there's

01:17 a year for us to fill those gaps.

01:20 But a year's a long time, right?"

01:22 The Olympic sailing course is over 400 miles from Paris, here in Marseille.

01:27 And though athletes' eyes will be on the water, they'll have a stunning view of Marseille's

01:32 spectacular coastline.

01:34 With its rocky inlets, small archipelagos and ancient architecture, this city is really

01:39 something.

01:40 Marseille has passed through the hands of both the Greeks and the Romans.

01:45 Each has left their mark on the city of 900,000, which is distinctly un-Parisian.

01:50 And though it's been a trading port since ancient times, it's now scrubbing away its

01:57 reputation for grit, drawing new residents interested in its food, culture and 300 days

02:04 of sun.

02:05 "I am way happier sailing in the sun.

02:06 It just makes the experience so much better.

02:07 I'm happier, I sail better and faster."

02:08 A fact that's not lost on these visiting sailors.

02:20 In Marseille, France, I'm Ryan Thompson for Newsnet.

02:23 -END-

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