The Laser is a class of single-handed, one-design sailing dinghies using a common hull design with three interchangeable rigs of different sail areas, appropriate to a given combination of wind strength and crew weight. Ian Bruce and Bruce Kirby designed the Laser in 1970 with an emphasis on simplicity and performance.
The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Radial is a variant of the Laser Standard, with shorter mast and reduced sail area, allowing light sailors to sail in heavy winds. The International Class is recognised by World Sailing.
The Laser 4.7 or ILCA 4 is a one-design dinghy class in the Laser series and is a one-design class of sailboat. All Lasers are built to the same specifications. The Laser is 4.06 m long, with a waterline length of 3.81 m. The hull weight is 59 kg (130 lb). The boat is manufactured by ILCA and World Sailing approved builders.
Robert Scheidt is a Brazilian sailor who has won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze from five Olympic Games and a Star Sailors League Final. He is one of the most successful sailors at Olympic Games and one of the most successful Brazilian Olympic athletes, being one of only two to earn five medals along with fellow sailor Torben Grael, and the only Brazilian sailor to win medals in both dinghy and keelboat classes.
Tom Slingsby is a successful Australian competitive sailor. Slingsby's first successes came sailing Laser dinghies, where he won three consecutive world championships and the 2012 Olympic gold medal. Slingsby was the strategist for the America's Cup-winning Team Oracle USA in 2013. In 2016 he skippered the winner-of-line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race line. Following this he skippered the Australian team in the inaugural SailGP competition.
Paul Martin Goodison MBE is an English Olympic gold medal-winning sailor.
Mark Mendelblatt is an American yachtsman. Married to windsurfer Carolina Mendelblatt, he primarily sails the Laser Radial, a one-design class of small single-handed sailing dinghy. Beginning in 2005, he also started to race in the two-person keelboat Star class.
The ILCA 4 World Championships, until 2020 the Laser 4.7 World Championships, have been held every year since 2002, organized by the International Sailing Federation. The event is open to sailors under the age of 18.
Joanna Ayela Aleh is a New Zealand sailor. She is a national champion, a former world champion, and an Olympic gold medallist.
Pavlos Kontides is a Cypriot sailor. He became the first Cypriot athlete ever to win an Olympic medal for his country, by winning the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's Laser class behind Tom Slingsby. He won the International Sports Prize World Athlete of the Year award in 2012. On Tuesday 19 of September 2017, Kontides took the 1st place in 2017 ILCA World Championship in Split, Croatia, becoming a World Champion. He won the championship again in 2018, as well as a silver in 2013.
Luke Patience is a British Olympic sailor. He competed with Stuart Bithell at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the team won a silver medal.
The Men's ILCA 6 World Championship, until 2020 the Men's Laser Radial World Championship, has been held every year since 1989 for the ILCA 6 class, organised by the International Sailing Federation. Laser Radial is an Olympic sailing class. The event was held together with the Women's Laser Radial World Championship between 1989 and 2010.
Charlotte Fletcher-Scott is a British sailor who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Philipp Buhl is a German competitive sailor. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men's Laser class, finishing in 14th place.
Great Britain, or in full Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the team of the British Olympic Association (BOA), which represents the United Kingdom, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sarah Douglas is a Canadian competitive sailor. She won gold in the Laser Radial at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and took silver in the 2023 competition in Santiago, Chile.
Mara Stransky is an Australian competitive sailor. She spent her teenage years living permanently onboard the family 50ft catamaran.
Clemente Seguel Lacámara is a Chilean sailor. He competed in the Laser event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The following is the qualification system and summary of the sailing at the 2023 Pan American Games competition.
This article details the qualifying phase for sailing at the 2024 Summer Olympics. 312 quota places for the Games are entitled to the sailors coming from their respective NOCs, based on the results at designated regattas supervised by World Sailing. Host nation France reserves a single boat in each of the ten sailing classes, whereas four quota places are distributed to the NOCs competing in the men's singlehander ILCA 7 and women's singlehander ILCA 6 under the Tripartite Commission.
