Grae Morris proved consistency pays off as he secured a medal in the men's windsurfing for Australia in Paris 2024.
Morris struggled at the start of the Opening Series, but managed to rally to climb up the leaderboard and eventually finish on top.
That means he automatically qualifies for the final race, where he will win a bronze medal at the very least.
"It's super hard being at the top and staying at the top," Morris said.
"It feels good now, but knowing that you have to pull off the next best thing tomorrow makes it a bit nerve-wracking, but it's all honest work."
"I does ease my mind a little, knowing that I'll be coming home with something in my hand, but I'm not fully satisified until it's over and the gold medal is still in play and that won't leave my mind tonight.
"It's not about winning every race, it's about being super accurate and staying in the top ten and minimising mistakes."
"It's not about completely dominating. It's about being a second in front at the finish, just like running."
Israel's Tom Reuveny finished three points behind Morris overall, closing out the day with a second-place finish in race 13.
He will go straight through to the semifinal race, alongside New Zealand's Josh Armit, who in turn finished three points behind Reuveny.
The remaining athletes that finished between fourth and tenth will go into a quarterfinal, and the top two from that race will join Reuveny and Armit in the semifinal.
Poland's Pawel Tarnowski, who finished fourth, said: "I think I lost a top three position in the last races."
"I stopped on the last mark before the finish, although I was going quite well in the top ten which would have given me a top three position."
"The quarterfinal is going to be tough for sure. It was very inconsistent out there today. I hoped for a better finish at the end of the day."
Wilson Rules
Great Britain's Emma Wilson secured a medal in the women's windsurfing by topping the rankings at the end of the Opening Series.
Wilson had another productive day on the water, starting off with a win that ultimately put her 31 points clear of the competition.
For topping the standings, Wilson automatically qualified for the final that will determine which color medal she gets.
"It's really cool to be guaranteed a medal for tomorrow. It's the best we can get in this format, so I'm really happy," added Wilson.
"I just took it race by race and believed in my training that I've done all year, for the last three years. Just to perform how I've done this week at the Olympics is pretty cool."
"I don't approach tomorrow differently. I'll have food and physio and come back tomorrow like I have all week."
Trailing behind the Brit was Israel's Sharon Kantor, who managed to place second in race 13 today.
Kantor will progress directly to the semifinal race alongside Italy's Marta Maggetti, who finished 21 points off Kantor.
"I still have tomorrow to race, which is a big day. I will continue being with my team, eat, drink, and sleep. I'm just waiting for tomorrow," concluded Kantor.
"We had to wait for the wind. We were next to the island. We did one race, and then the wind dropped."
"We then found some wind, but it was gusty and tricky. It was a long day. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."
The remaining athletes who finished between fourth and tenth will head into the quarterfinal race that will open the windsurfing action tomorrow.
IQFoil at Paris 2024 | Results After 13 and 14 Races
Men
- Grae Morris
- Tom Reuveny
- Josh Armit
- Pawel Tarnowski
- Luuc Van Opzeeland
- Nicolo Renna
- Noah Lyons
- Sam Sills
- Ethan Westera
- Elia Colombo
- Nacho Baltasar Summers
- Sebastian Koerdel
- Ching Yin Cheng
- Johan Soe
- Nicolas Goyard
- Mateus Isaac
- Rytis Jasiunas
- Makoto Tomizawa
- Jingye Huang
- Jakob Eklund
- Francisco Cruz Saubidet Birkner
- Vyron Kokkalanis
- Robert Kubin
- Rami Boudrouma
Women
- Emma Wilson
- Sharon Kantor
- Marta Maggetti
- Helene Noesmoen
- Katerina Svikova
- Maja Dziarnowska
- Maria Belen Bazo German
- Theresa Marie Steinlein
- Veerle Ten Have
- Zheng Yan
- Mina Mobekk
- Palma Cargo
- Mariana Aguilar Chavez Peon
- Kwan Ching Ma
- Pilar Lamadrid Trueba
- Sara Wennekes
- Ingrid Puusta
- Merve Vatan
- Natasa Lappa
- Johanna Hjertberg
- Lina Erzen
- Dominique Stater
- Lorena Abicht
- Chiara Ferretti