Racing began at the Paris 2024 Olympic sailing competition yesterday for the Portland-based British team.

Light winds made for a tricky first day with only two of the four scheduled classes seeing any action.

The 49erFX (Women’s Skiff) fleet opened up proceedings, however, light winds saw mixed results across the board.

Team GB’s Freya Black (making her Games debut) and Saskia Tidey ended day one 10th in the standings with scores of ninth, 16th and eighth from their three races.

Tidey, 31, who lives on Portland, admitted that 'everyone's a bit nervous and excited' and says she is 'looking forward to the rest of the competition.

She said: “Today, day one, [we were] just trying to get stuck into it. I think everyone's a bit nervous and excited at the same time. So really hard racing, really light. We just wanted a solid scoreline.

"There's a few more points than what we wanted, but we're still in the fight and we're looking forward to the rest of the week.”

Her team mate Black added: “It's good, just to get the first day out of the way. I think we're still in the fight and we've not lost it. And that's exactly what we needed for day one.“

“it was so nice seeing friends and family on the shoreline, giving us a little boost of energy. The nerves are there, but I’m just excited to get going.”

Olympic first-timers James Peters and Fynn Sterritt also got their event underway in the 49er (Men’s Skiff).

The pair had a difficult start finishing 18th in race one, but improved with an 11th placed finish in race two having had to take a penalty turn which showed their ability to come back from adversity.

In the final race of the day the pair finished13th in race which sees them start day two in 14th overall. 

The men’s and women’s iQFOiL (windsurfing) fleets had a frustrating wait to get their event underway though.

The iQFOiL needs eight knots of wind to get going, which never materialised.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Emma Wilson and Olympic Games newbie Sam Sills will have to wait another day to get started – although Monday could bring another day of light conditions.

Wilson, who live on Portland, said: “What did I do? (I) played Mario Kart, played under an umbrella. That's about it.”

“I think we're just used to it now. At the Worlds we didn't race on the first day, so I think we kind of all know it's part of the game, and we play the game.”

All three events are set to resume from just after 11am today (Monday, July 29).