Before crossing the finish line, there were tears of joy, followed by controlled capsize and swimming for Norway’s fresh bronze medalist in the Olympics – KNS sailor Line Flem Høst.
Photo: Henrik Montgomery / TT
Oslo athletes have so far secured Norway’s only medals at the Paris Olympics. Today, KNS sailor Line Flem Høst (28) from Bestum secured a bronze medal. As she crossed the finish line, tears of joy flowed, leading to a victory swim.
– Yes, shouted a crying Line Flem Høst as she approached the finish line and achieved a second place in the decisive medal race.
After crossing the line, the Norwegian girl screamed and yelled with joy and quickly ended up in the water. There, she received congratulatory hugs from Danish silver medalist Anne-Marie Rindom.
– Amazing sailing!
Once on land, the bronze medalist threw herself into the arms of waiting family members.
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In Wednesday’s intense finale, Flem Høst kept her fiercest competitors for bronze at a reassuring distance.
It also helped that several of them were involved in a chaotic situation at the top mark.
– This is absolutely amazing sailing by Line. This is going her way, shouted Discovery’s commentary duo Bjørnar Erikstad and Tiril Hartvedt Bue during the medal race.
– She sails like a goddess, they also said.
Has worked mentally
With the bronze, Flem Høst avenged what became a disappointment during the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. She led the competition halfway, but couldn’t handle the pressure in the second half.
Since that setback, the 28-year-old has worked with professionals at Olympiatoppen to better master such situations next time. On Wednesday, she proved that this effort has yielded solid results.
Celebration swim for the top three in the Ilca 6 class: From left, gold medalist Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands, bronze medalist Line Flem Høst, and silver medalist Anne-Marie Rindbom from Denmark.
Photo: Henrik Montgomery / TT
The 28-year-old had a perfect start and then had full control over everything and everyone.
It should also be noted that Flem Høst has struggled with illness during the Olympic competition in Marseille. This, along with many delays, has made the medal journey challenging.
Postponed and postponed
The decisive medal race was supposed to take place on Tuesday, but had to be postponed due to insufficient wind in the bay off the French port city.
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Also on Wednesday, the start had to be pushed back, but around 2 PM, the wind picked up. Once the athletes got going, it became extremely intense minutes for Flem Høst.
The 28-year-old was in third place overall before the final race with 71 points. At the same time, she had a long line of competitors right behind her.
In the Olympic sailing competitions, participants receive points based on their placement in each individual race. A first place earns one point, a second place two points, and so on. In the decisive medal race, the points are doubled.
The sailor with the fewest points after ten races tops the standings and wins the gold.
Gold and silver awarded
The last of Monday’s two planned races had to be canceled due to weak and shifting winds in Marseille. Thus, the sailors entered the medal race on Tuesday with the standings as they were after nine races.
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This allowed Dutch Marit Bouwmeester to celebrate already before Tuesday’s decision. She secured the gold on Monday. With only 30 points after the first nine races, she could not be caught in the tenth.
Danish Anne-Marie Rindom had 51 points and was likewise guaranteed silver before the medal race. Flem Høst could not make up the 20 points she was behind her good friend and competitor.
However, Bouwmeester and Rindom had to be at the start on Tuesday and finish to secure the two most coveted medals.