Sarah Steyaert / Charline Picon

Sarah Steyaert was born November 27, 1986, in Bordeaux. She built her first Olympic career in the Laser Radial: European Champion (2005), twice European vice-champion (2007, 2009), World Champion (2008, a year she also finished 5th at the Beijing Olympics), and a second Games at London 2012 (16th). She then moved into skiff sailing, crewing the 49erFX for a different skipper at Rio 2016 (6th). After stepping back, she returned around 2021 as crew/navigator for Charline Picon's 49erFX campaign, bringing Olympic-championship experience to a partnership built from scratch. The pair placed 6th at the 2023 Europeans, competed at the 2023 Worlds, and won Paris 2024 bronze — France's first sailing medal of the Games.

Charline Picon was born December 23, 1984, in Royan, and is a physiotherapist by training and one of windsurfing's most decorated Olympians. She began windsurfing at 11, moved to RS:X in 2006, won World Windsurfing bronze in 2009 and 2010 despite shoulder surgery, finished 8th in the RS:X at London 2012, won the 2014 ISAF World Championship, then won consecutive Olympic windsurfing medals: gold at Rio 2016 and silver at Tokyo 2020. After Tokyo she made a striking mid-career switch to the two-person 49erFX skiff, training from around 2021 with Sarah Steyaert as crew/navigator — she has spoken publicly about the scale of the adjustment from sailing alone to a five-metre, two-wing boat. The partnership placed 6th at the 2023 Europeans before Paris 2024 bronze, giving Picon Olympic medals in two different sailing disciplines across three Games (2016, 2020, 2024).