Grae Morris has become the first Australian since Atlanta 1996 to win an Olympic windsurfing medal – a silver – following the delayed final on the water near Marseille. It is a remarkable achievement, all the more so because, had life turned out slightly differently, Morris might have been playing in a different sport and representing a different country.

The 20-year-old, the youngest competitor in his category at the Games, was born in Australia to New Zealand parents. Growing up, Morris – a dual citizen – dreamed of representing the All Blacks. He was a talented full-back and played in the first XV at Cranbrook College in Sydney; his idols were legendary New Zealand stars Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.

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“In all my photos I have as a kid I’m wearing an All Blacks jersey,” Morris told Nine earlier this year. “I always wanted to play for the All Blacks.”

Morris juggled his rugby commitments with a lifelong passion for windsurfing, a class of sailing at the Games. His father, Brett, was also a keen windsurfer, and from the age of just three months Morris travelled with family as Morris senior competed in national and international windsurfing. Morris junior was soon on the board himself and started competing at 11.

He credits rugby for instilling “valuable lessons in teamwork, self-motivation, resilience and determination”. It also gave him the right combination of size and fitness to excel at windsurfing – competitors must have the strength to control a rig which includes a nine square-metre sail, with the endurance to make it through a series of races in a day. “Rugby helped me put on my size while staying fit,” he said.

But at the end of year 12, Morris realised he needed to make a decision. “I faced the pivotal moment where I had to choose between pursuing high level rugby or my ultimate passion – windsurfing,” he said. “The decision was clear, windsurfing won.”

Since going all in on windsurfing, Morris has enjoyed a rapid rise in the iQFOIL class, a type of windsurfing board which uses a foil to lift the windsurfer out of the water. Paris 2024 is the class’s debut at the Olympics. Following a stint training with the Dutch national team (the Netherlands is well-known for their windsurfing prowess), Morris secured qualification for the Games, finished fourth at the most recent world championships (where he was also world champion in the under 23 category). At an Olympic test event in Marseille last year, Morris placed fourth – just one spot outside the medals.

But getting to the Olympics has not been easy – Morris is the first male Australian athlete to compete at the Games since 2004. To allow himself to go all in on his Olympic dream, Morris turned to crowdfunding – raising almost $10,000 to support his journey to Paris 2024.

In the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, where the sailing events are being held, Morris started slowly in the early races on the windsurfing program, before two race wins and two second-placings elevated him into the lead. Top 10 finishes in his final two races were enough to secure progress direct to the final after 13 races overall, guaranteeing a medal.

Asked on Thursday night what he would do to prepare for the big medal race, Morris had a simple answer: “Big dinner, good dessert and a great sleep.”

Following a nervous wait, after the medal race was delayed by a day due to a lack of wind in Marseille, Morris faced off against Israel’s Tom Reuveny and Dutchman Luuc van Opzeeland. Reuveny would prove too quick in the one-off medal race, but silver was nonetheless a remarkable result for the young Australian.

“That was awesome,” Morris said on the Olympics broadcast after the final. “The best racing we’ve ever done. It was sick.” The Australian also insisted he would be back. “It’s not the end, that’s for sure.”

Morris paid tribute to his rivals in the final, who he described as “two of the best” in the sport. “I wouldn’t want to be on the line with anybody else,” Morris said afterwards. “Great blokes. It was a fair fight. We all agreed, ‘let’s make this a fun one’. I’m just super happy to share that moment with them.”