Speculation is mounting that sailing's highly anticipated mixed offshore keelboat for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games may not be approved by the International Olympic Council (IOC) at its meeting next month.
When World Sailing received feedback from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the event programme for Paris, the IOC approved only nine of the ten events in December 2020.
The 2024 programme had incurred a significant overhaul to meet new requirements by the IOC, with the introduction of the new Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat Event expanding the sailing competition beyond dinghies and boards and beyond closed-course racing.
While this event has helped to increase interest in shorthanded sailing, the IOC wanted to further review the event in order to properly assess the key considerations around safety and security of the athletes, with a decision to be no later than May 31, 2021, as Afloat previously reported here
It's not the first time that the decision over the offshore keelboat has been questioned either. A leading offshore sailor and former Admiral of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in London says because of the 'possible loss' of the new offshore keelboat back in December he questioned whether it is worth sustaining the connection of the offshore world with the World Sailing body.
Campaigns (including three Irish parings and one currently racing off France) planning for 2024 are coming to terms with the fact Paris may now be a '50/50' chance?
The doubts come as the Finn class seeks to regain its Olympic place for 2024 through an innovative collaboration with a former women's Olympic class, the Europe dinghy.
It seems the fight for the tenth medal at Paris 2024 is well and truly underway.