Date | 31 July – 8 August 1984 | |
---|---|---|
Status | Olympic | |
Location | Long Beach Marina, Long Beach, California (Alpha Course) | |
Participants | 38 from 38 countries | |
Format | Points awarded for placement in each race. Best six of seven scores to count for final placement. |
This was the first time windsurfing was held at the Olympics and it was open only to men, the first time that an Olympic yachting event had not been contested as a mixed class. Men and women also had a windsurfing demonstration event in 1984. The board chosen in 1984 was the windglider. It had been designed in Europe and was chosen over the Windsurfer One, designed in America by Hoyle Schwitzer, which was used for the men’s and women’s demonstration event. The windglider would never be used again for Olympic windsurfing. The windsurfers raced over the Alpha course in the Long Beach Harbor.
The first gold medal in windsurfing went to Dutchman Stephan van den Berg, who won only one race, but was consistent, not having to count any race finish higher than fourth. Silver medalist Scott Steele of the United States was competing in his only Olympics. The bronze medalist, Bruce Kendall of New Zealand, would win this event in 1988. His sister, Barbara, was one the world’s top women windsurfers and won a full set of Olympic medals in the women’s event at the 1992-2000 Olympics, including gold in 1992.
Van Den Berg had won four world titles (1980-83) on the Windglider, the first three in the Light division, which was eliminated in 1983. He turned professional after the Olympics, but returned in 1992 when pros were allowed to compete.