In the beginning, it didn’t look like a victory at all:
The duo Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mähr were only last at the first buoy in the Medal Race competition off Marseille, but steadily worked their way forward. At mark three, the army athlete duo was already in sixth place and therefore in gold position.
Sailing: Olympic gold for Austria
The sailing duo Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mähr won the gold medal in the 470 medal race at the Olympic Games in Paris on July 8, 2024. The two military athletes beat off competition from Japan and Sweden. This was the second medal for Austria after judoka Michaela Polleres won bronze.
Vadlau/Mähr won the fourth gold for Austria in Olympic sailing history. This feat was previously achieved by Roman Hagara/Hans Peter Steinacher (Tornado) at the Games in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) and Christoph Sieber (Mistral) in Sydney 2000. Overall, this is the ninth Olympic sailing medal for Austria: so far there have been three gold, four silver and one bronze.
Lara Vadlau & Lukas Mähr: With nerves of steel to Olympic triumph
It didn’t look like a triumph at first: The sailing duo Vadlau/Mähr passed the first buoy at the regatta off Marseille in last place, but sailed steadily on towards the top five. At mark three, helmswoman Lara Vadlau and cox Lukas Mähr were already in sixth place and therefore in gold position. In the end, the two finished the race in seventh place and the competition with 38 points ahead of Japan’s Keiju Okada/Miho Yoshioka (41) and Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg/Lovisa Karlsson (47), securing gold in the final standings.
“We both still can’t believe it. We thought that if we sailed well, we could win a medal, but the fact that it’s gold is a dream,” said the 30-year-old Carinthian-born Vadlau in an overjoyed ORF interview. “It couldn’t be better. It’s an unbelievable dream. It was an amazing moment. We had to be sure before we burst into jubilation. We had it confirmed twice over,” added 34-year-old sailing partner Mähr from Vorarlberg.
Further success for the army sports model
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner also immediately congratulated the golden duo: “I am incredibly proud of the performance of our sailors Platoon Leader Lara Vadlau and Platoon Leader Lukas Mähr. With the gold medal in sailing, they have continued a successful tradition in sailing. I wish all the athletes in our squad continued success!”
