Rio 2016: Gold medal brings Brazilian women's sailing champions under limelight

Those not much familiar with the sport may have been surprised by the sailing gold won by Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze in the women's 49erFX class. Their names, however, were among the favorites for the podium. The two won the world championship in 2014 and were elected athletes of the year by the International Sailing Federation, Their status has changed, however—now they are known as Olympic champions.

“It was a hotly disputed regatta. I really wish there were another medal, for the Spanish girls, who had an excellent score. As for Tokyo, we'll have geared up by the time we get there, but it's still a long way to go,” said Kahene in an interview on Thursday (Aug. 18).

The competition was tight. The duos representing Brazil, Denmark, and Spain were tied when they reached the final, followed by the New Zealanders one point below. The podium would be defined by their positions on the final race. Brazil took the gold, New Zealand silver, and Denmark bronze.

“When we were told that we won by two seconds, I said, wow, was it that close? Before going for the regatta, I hugged Martine and said, we're winners regardless of the result, so let's leave pressure aside and do the regatta, give it all we can,” Kahena said.

The two Olympians also relied on valuable support. In addition to coach Javier Torres, they were under the guidance of Torben Grael, five-time Olympic winner, twice gold. Martine's father, Torben brought calmness to the duo. “We've always striven to seek the experience he tries to convey to us. Now, on the regatta, today as much as the other days, he brought calmness to us,” Martine said.

“He's someone who's well familiar with the bay. He's always got something nice. Sometimes he doesn't say a word, but we feel calm just by being close to him,” Torben's daughter said. The sport has run in the family for years, and this turned out to be the natural course of things.

“She started sailing early on, and she began competing when she was very young. We didn't make a point of having them compete; we just wanted them to enjoy the sport, which they did. They were passionate, and then competition just came naturally,” Torben said.

*Patrícia Serrão, from Portal EBC, contributed to this article.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira