Friday's sailing action on the waters off Marseille began with the medal races in the men's and women's skiff categories. In the first category, Spain's Diego Botín and Florian Trittel won gold in the men's skiff. This is the first gold medal for Spain at Paris 2024, bringing joy back to the nation through sailing. Sailing is the sport in which Spain has won the most Olympic medals in history, with Botín and Trittel's victory taking their tally to 22, 14 of which are gold.

The Spanish pair were in control of their own destiny to win the gold medal. Not even the postponement of the medal race, which was due to take place on Thursday but was moved to Friday, could shake them. They started calmly, with an advantage, aiming to avoid mistakes and ultimately win Friday's race to claim the medal. Silver went to New Zealand's Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie, while bronze went to Ian Barrows and Hans Henken of the United States.

The predictions were accurate, and Spain won the same medal that their compatriots Xabi Fernández and Iker Martínez claimed twenty years ago in 2004. Spain also achieved this success in London 2012. The two Spanish medallists said: “There were two attempts at the medal race, and there were nerves. We made a plan and we succeeded,” said Diego Botín.

“It was an almost perfect race; it has been six days of more than six hours on the water and with this heat. It was key to stay calm. I have no words to describe how I felt crossing the finish line and securing the gold medal,” he added. “We have suffered a lot, we have lost many times, and when you work so hard and finally achieve it, everything is much better,” said Trittel. 

Earlier in the day, the Dutch duo of Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz did the same for their country. They won the first sailing gold medal of Paris 2024 after a dramatic medal race in the women's skiff category. The Dutch team's performance was surprising, as they reached the final with only a one-point deficit to the French pair of Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon. Both teams battled hard, with the lead changing hands. But it was the Dutch who took the gold.

Norway's Helene Naess and Marie Roenningen took the lead, but the Dutch team recovered after the first lap. Van Aanholt and Duetz were on their way to the gold medal. But suddenly they turned off, thinking the finish line was somewhere else. Sweden's Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler capitalised on the mistake and went on to win the medal race. This gave them the silver medal to add to their success at the 2023 World Championships. After correcting their course, Van Aanholt and Duetz crossed the finish line in third place to secure the reigning world champions' first Olympic gold medal.

After the first lap, the Dutch team regained the lead from the Norwegian pair of Helene Naess and Marie Roenningen. Van Aanholt and Duetz were on their way to the gold medal. However, suddenly they turned off, thinking the finish line was somewhere else. Sweden's Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler capitalised on the mistake and went on to win the medal race. 

This gave them the silver medal to add to their success at the 2023 World Championships. After correcting their course, Van Aanholt and Duetz crossed the finish line in third place to secure the reigning world champions' first Olympic gold medal.

Steyaert and Picon finished sixth which was enough to secure bronze in front of their home crowd. The French pair were embraced by fans celebrating their medal. 

"There were a few seconds where Annette and I had to be resilient to figure out what went wrong," said Van Aanholt. 

"We did it quickly and that ultimately gave us the gold medal. It's been a week with a lot of different winds, which is great because it shows our sport and proves that you can't be one-dimensional. We are very happy with the way we sailed today", she said.

Meanwhile, Netzler of Sweden expressed the duo's joy. "We are so, so happy to finish this way. We are thrilled. We were so happy because we wanted to win the medal race. At least we did everything we could because the points were as they were. It's great to win the medal race here."

"It's unbelievable. We knew the teams behind us were really strong," said Steyaert. "We sailed well today and got the bronze. These were our last Olympic Games. I had never won a medal, I thought about it every day. All our families were here. They were amazing. We were crying with emotion every day."