Sailing first featured in the Olympics during the first modern-day Olympic games in Athens in April 1896. Despite weather conditions initially causing officials to cancel the sailing, the sport has been a familiar sight in every Olympics since, aside from those in 1904 and 1916.
Google continues honouring the Paris 2024 Olympic games on its homepage by showcasing a sailing illustration for today’s Google Doodle. The GIF shows a white dog pulling along a bird bobbing in a boat. Adding to the light-hearted charm are a marina backdrop and two seagulls popping up for a peek. Foliage illustrations like the laurel leaves used in Ancient Greek Olympic games as victory symbols frame the main animation.
The sailing Google Doodle is the latest in Google’s series paying homage to this summer’s Olympic games in France. It continues the homepage’s water-sports theme, following on from yesterday’s surfing animation. Other sports Google Doodles featured in the past week are Artistic Gymnastics, Football, and Skateboarding.
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Sailing and gender equity at Paris 2024 Olympics
Sailing events first featured in the Olympics during the first modern-day Olympic games in Athens in April 1896. Despite weather conditions initially causing officials to cancel the sailing, the sport has been a familiar sight in every Olympics since, aside from those in 1904 and 1916.
Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing in Marseille, France on 30 July, 2024. Photo: World Sailing / Sander van der Borch
For the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing at the Marseille Marina, sailing started on July 28th and finished on August 8th. Several new sailing events this year include Olympic Windsurfing, Olympic Kitesurfing, and Olympic Dingy Racing. At this summer Olympics, organisers ensured equal numbers of men and women participating in the sailing by reducing the number of sailors allowed to compete from 350 to 330.
The global governing body for sailing sports, World Sailing, echoed the Olympic focus on gender equity by announcing its plan in May to make the events more accessible for women. As part of its campaign, ‘Steering the Course,’ World Sailing set out its aim to ‘achieve 50% representation for female race officials at the 2026/27 World Sailing Championships and at the LA28 Olympic Games, as well as as well as achieving 25% of registered women International Race Officials.’
The encouragement for gender parity in sailing events reflects wins for female representation in the broader sporting landscape, with the Paris 2024 Olympics being the first to achieve gender equality.
Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing in Marseille, France on 1 August, 2024. Photo: World Sailing / Sander van der Borch
The 10 Olympic Sailing events taking place in Paris 2024:
- Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – New for 2024
- Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – New for 2024
- Men’s Kite – Formula Kite – New for 2024
- Women’s Kite – Formula Kite – New for 2024
- Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7
- Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6
- Men’s Skiff – 49er
- Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
- Mixed Dinghy – 470 – New for 2024
- Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17
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