Paris 2024 Olympics - Sailing - Men's Kite Final - Marseille Marina, Marseille, France - August 09, 2024. Valentin Bontus of Austria celebrates after winning gold. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) -Valentin Bontus foiled to men's kiteboarding gold on Friday, seizing Austria's second sailing victory, with Toni Vodisek of Slovenia securing silver and Singapore's Max Maeder bronze.
Bontus, 23, celebrated his win with a huge aerial leap on his foiling board while pumping his fist, later saying he would enjoy a few beers and try to take it all in.
"Staying calm, doing the same as I did in the semi-final and just managed to pull it off three times after that as well," a beaming Bontus said when asked how he had won.
"I'm insanely happy and I'm extremely stoked that I'm sharing the race course with these three legends and walking off with the gold medal," said Bontus, whose father inspired him.
The kiteboarding men's final wrapped up the sailing events and marks a dynamic Olympic debut for the action-packed foiling class, which is again on the schedule for Los Angeles 2028.
"Luckily I came out on top, but that's the game," said the long-haired Bontus, adding that Olympic victory more than made up for losses in previous championship events.
Slovenia's Vodisek suffered a wipeout during the last race of the first-to-three final, bringing his hopes of Olympic gold to a dramatic end and having to settle for silver.
Vodisek said nerves had got the better of him and an incident the previous evening in getting back to the beach had unsettled him a bit as it had torn his kite and broken the wings on his foil, meaning he had to exchange for spares.
"I guess everything was a bit heavy on my shoulders and stopped me performing at 100 percent," said Vodisek.
"He (Bontus) did really amazingly and I'm really proud of him," Vodisek said, adding he would be back in 2028 to beat him.
Maeder, the world champion, saluted Bontus for a "monster performance in the finals" and paid tribute to Vodisek for a "phenomenal performance" in the series leading up to the final.
"A momentous day, a medal for Singapore and on it's national day," the grinning 17-year-old said, adding that while he was smiling, he was "still sulking a bit".
Highlighting the close-knit community within the sport, billed as the fastest of the Olympics, all three medal winners praised the performance of Italian Riccardo Pianosi, who chased Bontus to the last leg in the final.
All three medallists said they were likely to be back for more high-speed racing at the next Games.
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; Editing by Ken Ferris and Alison Williams)
