By Tom Harle

Ellie Aldridge was only too happy to rescue the Olympic regatta for Team GB by soaring to gold in the inaugural women's kite event.

The 27-year-old beat Lauriane Nolot to top spot after the French favourite fell off her board in the early stages of the final in Marseille.

Nolot won gold and Aldridge silver at the last two World Championships and at the Test Event, but the Dorset native delivered at the big dance and took the first-ever kite title, with her rival settling for second place.

“I knew that if I had the right week I could win but it was going to need everything to align," said Aldridge, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.

"I felt like at the beginning of the week I didn’t have great luck, but I feel like my luck came around a bit.

"We haven't had the easiest conditions, but it's been really cool, and I hope everyone watching on TV thinks the same thing. It's been incredible.”

The sigh of relief breathed by British sailing bosses when Aldridge crossed the line first was almost audible from Paris.

Before her dramatic victory, the Games had only yielded one medal for Team GB in the shape of bronze for Emma Wilson. Even then Wilson was disconsolate at the colour of her medal after she dominated the event, winning eight of 14 races, before scores were wiped and she finished third in the final.

Both Micky Beckett and the pairing of John Gimson and Anna Burnet had podium chances heading into their final races but crashed and burned in the double-points contest.

Asked whether the team’s underperformance piled pressure on her own race, Aldridge said: “Not really. I know the other guys in the team could easily have won gold and they just didn’t have the right week, and they were a bit unlucky with the conditions and the circumstances.

“I know we have a strong team even though the medal count doesn’t show it. The other guys are amazing athletes. I feel really happy to have got the gold, but I also hope it raises everyone’s spirits a bit.”

Kite foiling is the fastest sport on the Olympic programme and sees riders ‘fly’ above the water on hydrofoils attached to boards, powered by huge kites.

A chaotic finals format sees the scores from the opening series wiped and the last four riders standing battle it out for medals.

Three wins are needed to settle the finals series, with leader Nolot carrying two and chaser Aldridge one: meaning it was winner-takes-all from the start.

Aldridge led from start to finish in the first and then totally dominated the decider with Nolot trailing by a huge margin after her initial slip.

The pulsating kite racing was a triumphant way to end a regatta that has been plagued by a lack of wind.

“It’s been a tricky week,” admitted Aldridge.

“As soon as we knew we were competing at Marseille, we knew it was going to be tough, we knew the wind was going to be light, we knew it would be one of the worst places we’ve ever kited.

“But you’ve got to learn how to deal with it, how to adapt, how to be consistent when the conditions aren’t ideal and how to excel when it really matters, and I think it all came down to that. I’m really happy I managed to hold it all together.”

Follow the British Sailing Team at Paris 2024 on Instagram at @britishsailing and on www.britishsailingteam.com