Grae has scorched the Olympic sailing course in Marseille to finish second and claim the silver medal for Australia.

In fact, the Olympic debutant from Sydney thinks the delay, due to a lack of wind in the south of France, enhanced his performance allowing him to relax and enjoy the experience.

Grae finished second to Israel’s Tom Reuveny by only five seconds, in the thrilling six-minute final, while Luuc Opzeeland from the Netherlands took third.

In doing so, the 20-year-old becomes the first Australian since Lars Kleppich at the 1992 Barcelona Games to win an Olympic windsurfing medal.

“That was an epic race, that was super fun,” Grae said.

“I was pretty bloody nervous, that's for sure. I think the longer we waited the more it settled down.

“The more we could think about what we were going to do and just take it all in.

“It's going to be a while before we get to experience this again. The wait made it worth it.”

Sailing in 17-knot winds, Grae went into the Final assured of a medal, it was a matter of which colour he would take home. He did not disappoint, showing the skills that have heralded him as one of the brightest prospects in world windsurfing.

Greeted by his family on the shore at the Marseille Marina, including his coach and father Brett, he couldn’t contain his excitement citing “the best sleep of my life” as the way he would celebrate.

“I was a little nervous. I made a few mistakes,” said Grae, who is under the guidance of national team coach Arthur Brett at the Olympic regatta.

“I was just trying to keep my head clear and take my next opportunity to do what I could. 

“I’ve done everything I've trained for. I just put it all on that moment. I'm super happy and no regrets at all.

“I'm going to be on that pillow and having the best sleep of my life.”

Grae is humbled to be considered among the celebrated list of Australian sailors who have won a medal at the Olympic Games and the first in his class in 32 years.

“It's the best feeling in the world knowing that,” he said.

“I’ve looked up to so many Australians leading up to this moment. 

“To say I have a medal and to say it all paid off, I'm just ecstatic.

“I can't compare it to any other moment in my life. This is really the pinnacle in my 20 years.”

And he is not done yet.

“I really hope I get this to have this feeling again.” 

In other races, defending champion Matt Wearn leads the One Person Dinghy series by 22 points with four races to go before the medal race.

Zoe Thomson moved up to 13th overall in the Women’s Dinghy and is well positioned to make the top 10.

In the Mixed Multihull Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown notched two 11th places to position themselves in 13th overall.

Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas are in sixth place after four races in the Mixed Dinghy.

Catriona Dixon