The world’s best Olympic sailors have made Hyères on the French Riviera their meeting spot each April for more than 50 years.

And this year the stakes are even higher, as the 55th edition of Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM from 20-27 April will be the final opportunity for sailing’s elite to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

French Olympic Week 2024 comprises two events hosted concurrently: The ‘Qualified Nations’ in Hyères harbour, with two participants for each nation and class; and the Last Chance Regatta which will bring together the nations that have still to qualify for Paris 2024 to compete for the 39 places still up for grabs.

All 10 Olympic classes will be competing in both events: ILCA (men’s and women’s single-handed dinghy), 49er (men’s and women’s skiff), Nacra 17 (mixed multihull), 470 (mixed double-handed dinghy), Formula Kite (men’s and women’s kitefoil) and iQFOiL (men’s and women’s windsurfing).

This exceptional line-up means that “La SOF” is set to break its record for the number of participating nations in Hyères, with nearly 1,000 athletes and 500 support staff from 90 countries across five continents expected.

And among them will be Irish 49er pairs Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove, and Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who will be looking to make up for a disappointing 49er Worlds to clinch Ireland’s single spot in the men’s skiff event in Marseille this summer.

The schedule for the week looks like the following:

The Semaine Olympique Française:

• Friday 19 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: opening ceremony
• Sunday 21 April to Wednesday 24 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite qualifying rounds
• Monday 22 to Friday 26 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 qualifying rounds
• Thursday 25 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite Medal Races
• Saturday 27 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 Medal Races
• Saturday 27 April: Prize-giving and closing ceremony

The Last-Chance Regatta:

• Thursday 18 April: welcome and registration
• Friday 19 April: welcome and registration
• Saturday 20 April: opening ceremony
• Sunday 21 April to 24 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite qualifying rounds
• Sunday 21 to Thursday 25 April: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470 qualifying rounds
• Thursday 25 April: iQFOiL and Formula Kite Medal Races
• Friday 26 April: Medal Races: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 and 470
• Saturday 27 April: Prize-giving and closing ceremony

For more details, including the Notice of Race, see the SOF website HERE.

For more than 50 years, the elite of Olympic sailing have been journeying to Hyères, the historic jewel of the French Riviera, at the end of April.

Over the years, the Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM has become an unmissable event for every national team. In 2023, for its 54th edition, Hyères will have the pleasure of once again welcoming the world’s best Olympic sailors in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

With almost 1,000 athletes from over 60 countries, the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères is — along with the Trofeo Princesa Sofía this week — a Mediterranean event not to be missed for the Olympic elite, with under a year-and-a-half until Paris 2024.

Like every year, “La SOF” continues to stage an event exclusively dedicated to the 10 Olympic classes. ILCA (women’s and men’s single-handed dinghy), 49er (women’s and men’s double-handed dinghy), Nacra 17 (mixed double-handed catamaran), 470 (mixed double-handed dinghy), Formula Kite (women’s and men’s kitefoil) and iQFOiL (women’s and men’s windfoil) will compete on the Hyérois waters less than 500 days before the first Olympic events.

Olympic champions from Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 competing in Hyères next month will include the likes of Brazil’s Martine Grael (49erFX double gold medallist), Italians Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti (Nacra 17 mixed), Australians Matt Wearn (gold in Tokyo) and Tom Burton (gold in Rio) in the ILCA 7, and China’s Lu Yunxiu (gold in the women’s RS:X in Tokyo) in the iQFOiL.

The event, coming during the school holidays, will be freely open to all and in particular to children, who will be able to get close to the best sailors in the world. There will be a multitude of onshore events to introduce sailing to as many people as possible.

Following reception and registration over the weekend of Friday 21 to Sunday 23 April, the opening ceremony takes place on Monday 24 April which also sees the start of the week-long qualifying phase, before the medal races, prize-giving and closing ceremony on Saturday 29 April.

Also, be sure to save the dates for next year’s Semaine Olympique Française, the 55th edition from 20-27 April 2024 just weeks before the Paris Games.

Registration and the Notice of Race are now available for 2023’s French Olympic Week, the 54th Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM, which takes place 22-29 April.

The world’s best athletes will be present on the Côte d’Azur just over a year before Paris 2024, with more than 700 competitors expected from over 50 nations.

Organised by the Fédération Française de Voile (French Sailing Federation), with the support of the city of Hyères and the Toulon Provence Méditerranée community, French Olympic Week is a historic sailing regatta on an international scale.

And the 2023 edition promises to be bigger than ever, with organisers setting up a sixth race zone to accommodate the large numbers of racers.

SOF event director Ed Russo said: “World Sailing has decided that in 2024 the SOF will be the ‘last chance regatta’, ie the last opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Many athletes will be present this year in preparation for the 2024 event.”

The 53rd Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - TPM opened in classic Côte d’Azur style on Monday (25 April) with the world’s best rising to the strong winds through a field of 751 sailors from over 50 countries. It was like they had never been away.

After missing two years because of COVID, it was the most welcome and vivacious of returns for a venue and event that means so much to so many.

Racing began at 11am local time in glorious sunshine, under cloudless skies and with strong offshore westerly winds of 15-20 knots.

A choppy sea state, more so on the more the easterly courses with less protection from the bay and Îles d’Or, as well as wind gusts between 25-30, kept everyone on their toes.

Both the world and sailing have changed since the last Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères in 2019. The 10 classes that will be contested in Marseille for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were in Hyères — which is just 50 miles west down the coast — for the first time. And it was flight time for the five foiling classes on show.

Olympic Champion Quality

The quality of competition throughout the fleets was immediately demonstrated at the start of the day in the men’s ILCA 7, where Matthew Wearn, Australia’s Olympic champion, and Philipp Buhl, Germany’s 2020 World Champion, traded wins at the head of a lead group that dominated both races.

“Today was very very nice, I like Hyères and I prefer a windy Hyères to a soft Hyères,” Buhl, who has particular reason to have a soft spot for Hyères, said.

“It’s a special place for me because it was my first junior European title in 2007, my first European Cup cup here in 2008, I did my first World Cup Medal Race here in 2009 and ten years ago, in 2012, I had my first ever World Cup win here.

“It’s quite funny to look at the results seeing Tom Burton, Slingsby — Matthew Wearn was in the fleet. So, I have some very good memories.”

Racing against the backdrop of the stunning Côte d’Azur | Credit: FFVoile/Sailing Energy

Also competing in the ILCA 7 class are Ireland’s Ewan McMahon and Finn Lynch, who place 18th and 34th overall after two races, respectively.

Other Irish contenders to watch out for this week are Aoife Hopkins in the ILCA 6, who currently stands in 17th overall after her first two races, plus two contingents in the 49er.

Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove are in 23rd overall after two races, with Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan not far behind in 27th. See the full results table HERE.

Registration is now open for the 53rd Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères which will take place from 23-30 April 2022.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the SOF will bring together for the first time on the waters of Hyères the 10 classes that will be contested in Marseille at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“It will be a great sporting event, but also a beautiful spectacle,” says SOF event manager Christophe Gaumont. “Of the 10 classes, five have foils. This will be the first time that we will host the iQFOiL for men and women. The new classes mean the SOF will run with perfect parity.

“There is going to be a real sense of occasion, as we are only three years away from the games. The preparation period has been reduced by one year compared to other Olympic cycles.

“Performing at Hyères, a body of water loved by all the competitors, will allow everyone to see where they are in the world hierarchy. There should be a lot of registrations!”

Organised by the Fédération Française de Voile (French Sailing Federation), with the support of the city of Hyères and the Toulon Provence Méditerranée region, the Semaine Olympique Française is an historic Olympic sailing regatta on an international scale and will be the first French milestone for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, when the sailing events will be staged in Marseille.

The Notice of Race is available to download below, and registration is open on the SOF website HERE.

After two years as a virtual event, the Semaine Olympique Française regatta will return to Hyères for its 53rd edition in 2022 and annually in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

And for the first time in France, all 10 of the Olympic classes that will be contested at Paris 2024 will be present in Hyères from 23-30 April 2022.

The 10 classes — iQFOiL (men and women), Kite (men and women), ILCA (men), Laser Radial (women), 49erFX (men and women), Nacra 17 (mixed) and 470 (mixed) — will compete on Mediterranean waters which are as technical as they are tactical and renowned for the often strong winds.

“After two complicated years because of COVID-19, the Semaine Olympique Française is back on the calendar for 2022 — and for the next three years,” said Jean-Luc Denéchau, president of the Fédération Française de Voile (French Sailing Federation).

“This is great news for this historic event. It will be the opportunity to see — for the first time in France, in the Toulon Provence Méditerranée area — all the new Olympic classes.

“The preparation time for the 2024 Olympic Games is going to be short and all the big events, such as the Semaine Olympique Française, will be crucial moments not to be missed. It promises to be compelling viewing and a great week of competition.”

Jean-Pierre Giran, Mayor of the City of Hyères and Vice-President of the Toulon Provence Méditerranée region, added: “The renovation of the municipal nauutical base, an ‘Olympic preparation centre’ for sailing, will contribute to the welcome to international delegations and to the success of sailing events in our region.

“It is also an opportunity to deepen our relationship with this world-class sailing event, whose reputation and excellence, are recognised by everyone, and in which we have a close collaboration with the French Sailing Federation and the Toulon Provence Méditerranée region.”

This year’s Semaine Olympique Française will be a virtual event after the Mediterranean regatta was cancelled last month over COVID-19 concerns.

From this Monday 26 April to Sunday 2 May, organisers will host an online version of the event on the Virtual Regatta game platform replicating the waters of Hyères which would have hosted Ireland’s Laser class Tokyo 2020 berth contenders — who had a tough time of it in recent days at Vilamoura.

Laser, 49er and Nacra 17 competitors in the virtual Semaine Olympique Française will compete against each other on different Olympic class boats throughout the week.

And special rankings will be afforded to those who had registered for the in-person event, giving them a chance to test their mettle against the best in the world in the virtual sphere.

The winner and qualifier finalists will also gain entry directly for the playoffs of the 2021 e-Sailing World Championship.

And the top five special ranking competitors will be offered automatic registration in the next Semaine Olympique Française in 2022. For more see sof.ffvoile.fr

Ireland's 'Breeze Queen' Annalise Murphy got off to a flying start at the first day of the Semaine Olympique Française in La Rochelle, with strong wind and sea conditions. Competitors faced a 'beefed up' weather on the French west coast with more than a twenty knots of south–westerlies and gusts of up to 35–knots and strong swells. Because of the strong winds only the RS :X Men, Laser, Laser Radial, and Finn have been able to compete so far.

Unfortunately, a black flag penalty (a premature start) in the second race has put the Irish Laser Radial 2016 Olympic campaigner back in 19th in the 37–boat fleet. Joining Annalise in La Rochelle are fellow Irish Olympic trialists Aoife Hopkins of Howth YC (26th) and Aisling Keller of Lough Derg (28th) and Nicole Hemeryck of the National Yacht Club in 33rd.

The French Radial fleet is without some of its Olympic stars including any of the London 2012 medallists but there are still some significant players in attendance inlcuding fleet leader, the rising Danish Star Anne-Marie Rindom. Full results here

Behind the Dane there is a French trio with Amélie Riou, seond, Pernelle Michon third and local girl Mathilde De Kerangat fourth who said after sailing: 'A physical day for us, and as our sailing area is quite far away, there is a lot of sea with big swells. It’s been awhile since I last sailed in this conditions, it was awesome. Today was a good day for me and after my recuperation, I’ll be ready for tomorrow’s fight'.

Racing continues this morning with more moderate winds of 10 to 12 knots forecast.

Top three after 1 day of racing:

RS:X Men (1 race)
1. Benoit Bigot, FRA, 1 point
2. Igor De L'Hermite, FRA, 2
3. Adrien Mestre, FRA, 3

Laser (2 races)
1. Jean Baptiste Bernaz, FRA, 2
2. Sergey Komissarov, RUS, 6
3. Alessio Spadoni, ITA, 6

Laser Radial (2 races)
1. Anne-Marie Rindom, DEN, 6
2. Amelie Riou, FRA, 8
3. Pernelle Michon, FRA, 8

Finn (2 races)
1. Poggi Giorgio, ITA, 2
2. Max Salminen, SWE, 5
3. Enrico Voltolini, ITA, 5