Grae Morris is hoping his first Olympic medal isn't his last after the young Sydney windsurfer snared silver in a high-velocity final in Marseille.
The 20-year-old bagged Australia's first medal in the event since Lars Kleppich brought home bronze from Barcelona more than 30 years ago, finishing behind Israel's Tom Reuveny in their three-sailor win-take-all showdown.
Dutchman Luuc van Opzeeland, looking for his country's fourth successive Olympic title in the event, took the bronze medal.
Italy's Marta Maggetti won the women's event.
Morris said winning a medal was the "pinnacle" of his young life and something he was already hopeful of repeating.
"I'm just ecstatic and I'm super happy and I can't compare it to any other moment in my life," Morris said.
"This is really the pinnacle in my 20 years so I really hope I get to have this feeling again.
"It's best feeling in the world - to say I have a medal and to say it all paid off."
Competing in the new iQFOiL class, Morris was guaranteed a medal after topping the rankings after the 13-race qualifying series on the Mediterranean in southern France.
That meant he moved straight into the final, awaiting his two competitors.
World champion van Opzeeland won the quarter-final and semi-final earlier on Saturday with Reuveny, who was ranked second from qualifying, finishing second.
After the sailors were recalled for a second start, racing in the final got underway in perfect, top-end wind.
In iQFOiL windsurfing, the sailors fly off the water at high speed, the boards lifted by a foil with athletes pushing speeds well above 20 knots (37 kph).
The three jostled for position in the early running with Morris just ahead at the first mark.
But Reuveny made his move and emerged from the third buoy ahead of Morris, with the pair breaking clear of van Opzeeland.
Reuveny, 24, built a healthy lead by gate four and managed to keep the Australian at bay, crossing the line in six minutes 43 seconds, 0.05 seconds in front.
While Morris initially appeared disappointed as he rode a dinghy back to shore, he started celebrating after he was swamped by the Australian camp and chaired up the beach.
"I made a few mistakes and I was just trying to keep my head clear and take my next opportunity to do what I could," Morris said.
"I feel I've done everything I've trained for, I just put it all into that moment and while it could have gone better, I'm super happy and have no regrets at all."
In other action, reigning ILCA 7 Olympic champion Matt Wearn relished the big winds to dominate the middle stages of the regatta.
Finishing first and second in the two races on Saturday, he leads the field by 22 points from Great Britain's Micky Beckett in second.
Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas (mixed 470) moved up the leaderboard to sixth while Zoe Thomson (ILCA 6) is 13th.
