An imposing Nacho Baltasar takes bronze at the French Olympic Week

After four days of competition, the young sailor from Club Nàutic Sa Ràpita reached today's Medal Series in sixth place overall. He started off weak at the beginning of the championship, but he went from strength to strength and on the second day he signed a partial victory that took him up to the twelfth position. On the second day he climbed six places in one go to sixth place, a position he retained yesterday.

Today's Medal Series had to be postponed due to the lack of wind. By the time the quarter finals could get underway, the winds were blowing briskly in the waters of Hyères and the islander was able to bring out his full potential. 

Nacho Baltasar won first in the quarter finals. In the last leg, the Aruban E. Westera fought him for the victory, but the Spaniard recovered it with mastery, although a second was enough for him to pass to the next phase. 

In the semi-finals, he competed in a four-way race, with Israel's T. Reuveny and Poland's P. Tarnowski (who had gone straight through from the qualifying heats as second and third in the provisional table), and with the Aruban. Once again, the Mallorcan sailor won, followed by Westera, which assured them a medal and gave them a pass to the final.

In the final, Australia's G. Morris, who had dominated the qualifying heats, awaited. The race was tachycardic, with winds of 16 knots. Baltasar started leading but a shift on the second upwind leg favoured the Spaniard, who had chosen the right-hand side of the course alone, taking his chances from the tail of the fleet. The Spaniard crossed the finish line in third position to take the bronze medal of the French Olympic Week. 

‘I just finished the final in third place. I'm very happy because I started in fourth and I managed to do the three Medal Races and get into the final. This serves to gain experience for Paris, and is a shot of adrenaline and motivation for these remaining months until Marseille", explained Nacho Baltasar from the inflatable of his coach, Marcos Fernandez, and supported by his teammate Jorge Aranzueque. 

At the age of 19, Nacho Baltasar is the youngest member of the Spanish team shortlisted for Paris 2024. It will be his first Olympic event, in a discipline, iQFOiL foiling windsurfing, which is making its debut in the Olympic programme, replacing RS:X. 

His best results to date include a fifth place in the Marseille Test Event last year, a seventh place in the recent Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by Iberostar, an eighth place in the iQFOiL Games Lanzarote 2023 and a tenth place in the 2024 World Championship.