The Laser/Radial selection as the Olympic One Person Dinghy is under threat from the RS Aero, D-Zero and Melges 14
World Sailing has shortlisted four bids for the selection of equipment for the Olympic Men and Women One Person Dinghy – The existing Laser/Radial, the RS Aero, the D-Zero and the Melges 14.
The Laser combination has been around since 1971 and has been an Olympic class since 1996 for the Laser Standard (men) and 2008 for the Laser Radial (women).
The three other short listed dinghies are more recent designs (from 2014 on) and although, like the Laser, they have different rig sizes available, it is not known if it is the intention to use one hull design for both the men and women’s event.
If you are not familiar with the three new designs, below are demo videos:
1. RS Aero
2. D-Zero
3. Melges 14