Fans are all saying the same thing about Olympic Games event after Aussie is almost denied gold medal in cruel fashion... but star manages to avoid biggest robbery of all time

  • Matt Wearn was cruelly denied gold on Wednesday 
  • He was comfortably leading before the final race was abandoned 
  • But he won the restarted race to take home gold for Australia

Matt Wearn was denied Olympic gold in cruel fashion on Wednesday despite being moments away from victory.

The Australian was cruising towards a successive gold in the men's sailing in France, having won the title in Tokyo three years ago, before officials abandoned the race due to light wind.

Wearn simply had to ensure that rival Pavlos Kontides did not beat him by more than seven positions to wrap up gold, and was comfortably ahead of the Cypriot before the decision was made.

He smashed his hand into the side of his boat in frustration after learning of the race's abandonment, but kept his cool in the restarted run to win and seal back-to-back gold medals.  

But fans have had enough of sailing's constant delays during these Games in Marseille, and they took to X in their droves to vent their fury after the latest drama.

'Race abandoned!' one fan exclaimed. 'I don't get it. Just one leg to go and Matt Wearn had the gold wrapped up.'

Another joked: 'As a spectator sport, sailing needs something. Maybe it would work better if they allowed piracy.'

'Do they ever actually finish a sailing race?' a third fan fumed. 'Every one I've seen has been abandoned.'

Matt Wearn was cruelly denied a gold medal in the sailing on Wednesday, but kept his composure to seal the top prize in Marseille

Matt Wearn was cruelly denied a gold medal in the sailing on Wednesday, but kept his composure to seal the top prize in Marseille

The Aussie was comfortably in the lead before the race was abandoned

The Aussie was comfortably in the lead before the race was abandoned

'Matt Wearn is absolutely filthy. Rightly so.'

His nervous parents were watching on in Marseille and shared their disappointment after the abandoned race.

'It's crazy. He had it had it under control,' father Brad said. 'He was exactly where he needed him. And yeah, they've abandoned the race.

'He was literally what looked like 20 or 30m away from the top. Mark. One more down wind and had Kontides behind him. Yeah, he had it in the bag but we reset and it looks like we're going to go again.' 

His mum, Karen, added: 'Well, the wind obviously shifted too far, and there was a disadvantage for some sailors on one side of the course to the other, and they decided that they needed to call the race. So it was fair for all.' 

But once Wearn's gold was secured, they beamed with pride.

'He's just scary, he's so strong, so composed, he's just amazing. He's an extraordinary person, just amazing,' Karen said. 

Reflecting on the disruption, champion Wearn told Nine: 'Once it got abandoned, (there was) a little moment of frustration but then resetting and knowing I had to give it another go.'

He won the restarted race to make himself a back-to-back Olympic champion

He won the restarted race to make himself a back-to-back Olympic champion

Wearn celebrates with friends and family after his triumph in Marseille

Wearn celebrates with friends and family after his triumph in Marseille

He then paid a special tribute to his mum and dad. 

'I think first and foremost thank you, my parents have invested so much in me to be able to compete and do this sport,' he said.

'They've been here this whole journey and no one's done that, obviously that's pretty special. Obviously they've flown all the way to Marseille to here too which is incredible, they missed out in Tokyo.'