Wind- & Kitesurfing

The first World Cup of the Olympic classes came to an end yesterday in Palma with the Medal Races held in good conditions. ----- There was only one change at the top in the Nacra 17: thanks to victory in the Medal Race, John Gimson/Anna Burnet GBR moved to the top, with Gianluigi Ugolini/Maria Giubilei ITA 2nd, 2 points behind. England also won the ILCA 7 (Michael Beckett GBR), the 470 (Martin Wrigley/Bettine Harris GBR), the women's Kite Foil (Emma Wilson GBR, who also won the Trofeo Princesa Sofia overall all classes), and the 49erFX (Freya Black/Saskia Tidey GBR). ----- There were two wins for Australia: Zoe Thompson AUS won the ILCA 6 and Grae Morris AUS took victory in the iQ-Foil. ----- The other victories went to Max Maeder SGP (Kite Foil Men), Erwan Fischer/Clément Péquin FRA in the 49er, and Wan Li CHN (Kite Foil Women). ----- The Swiss had to be satisfied with mediocre results, as best the kite-foilers Gian Andrea Stragiotti SUI came 11th, Karl Mäder SUI followed in 19th place. There were also good results in the large ILCA 6 fleet. While Olympic fourth-placed Maud Jayet SUI was starting her regatta activities and had to settle for 40th place, Anja Von Allmen SUI was able to book 28th place after her winter of training, and Rosine Baudet SUI came 39th in the field of 113 participants. In the ILCA 7, Gauthier Verhulst SUI finished 17th in the Silverfleet (=76th overall). The 49er junior teams finished the series in 46th place (Joshua Richner/Corne Janssen SUI) and 53rd place (Pablo Rüegge/Finn Meichle GER). Elia Colombo SUI failed to get going in the iQ Foil Windsurfers and finished 41st. ----- All rankings and the final report.

The qualifications for today's Medal Races were completed in Palma yesterday. ----- In the ILCA 7, Michael Beckett GBR is the early winner with a 31-point lead, his 4th Palma victory in a row. Gauthier Verhulst SUI is 17th in the Silver Fleet (=76th overall), Martin Verhulst is 3rd in the Bronze Fleet (=119th overall), with 171 participants at the start. ----- The Medal Race ILCA 6 remains exciting: Zoe Thompson AUS leads by 3 points ahead of Daisy Collingridge GBR. The Swiss women are not there, with Anja Von Allmen SUI in 28th place, Rosine Baudet SUI in 39th place, and Maud Jayet SUI in 40th place. ----- In the 470, Martin Wrigley/Bettine Harris GBR are on the verge of overall victory, going into the Medal Race with a 19-point lead. The duel for second place is exciting: Elena Berta/Giulio Calabro ITA are only 3 points ahead of Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort GER. ----- In the 49ers, Erwan Fischer/Clément Pequin FRA go into the Medal Race with an 18-point lead. ----- Freya Black/Saskia Tidey GBR are 10 points ahead in the 49erFX. ----- The kite-foilers are sailing their Medal Series today: Max Maeder SGP and Valentin Bontus AUT are seeded as leaders for the final, the places 3-9, plus the winner of the last race of the remaining field, will determine the other finalists. Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI, in 11th place overall, is one of the contenders, and Karl Maeder SUI is in 19th place. ----- Wan Li CHN and Lysa Caval FRA are in the women's final. ----- In the iQ-Foil Windsurfer, Grae Morris AUS leads the classification by 10 points after 20 races. Elia Colombo SUI is 41st of the 111 participants. ----- Emma Wilson GBR is the favorite in the women's Medal Race, having won 12 of the 19 qualifying races. ----- The Nacra 17 will see a duel between Gianluigi Ugolini/Maria Giubilei ITA and Huancheng Zhao/Su Sha CHN, 4 points behind them. Andrea Aschieri/Tine Rossel SUI finish the series in 22nd place. ----- All rankings and the reports.

The second Big Ar World Cup on the French Mediterranean coast at the weekend also decided the world championship ranking for trhe ‘high jumpers’. The Tramontana provided spectacular conditions with winds of more than 40 knots in places. Mikaili Sol BRA won the women's event, thus also winning the World Championship classification. Andrea Principati ITA won the men's event, while Lorenzo Calvati ITA took the title in the world championship. The report.

The sun and good conditions meant that all 10 Olympic classes on the bay of Palma had a full program yesterday. The kite-foilers, for the first time with the new measurement regulations (slightly smaller kites), completed 4 races. ----- Max Mäder SGP won all the heats in the men's event, and his Olympic revenge against gold medallist Valentin Bontus AUT seems to work out. The Austrian shares second place on equal points with Vojtech Koska CZE, followed by the Swiss in 13th (Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI), and 19th (Karl Mäder SUI) of the 63 participants. ----- In the women's race, the Chinese took a convincing triple lead: Si Wang CHN is one point ahead of Wan Li CHN. Lysa Caval FRA is 4th, followed by Olympic champion Ellie Aldridge GBR in 5th. ----- The 470s finished two heats, with Simon Diesch/Anna Markfort GER and Martin Wrigley/Bettine Harris GBR tied on points at the top. ----- In the 49er, 3 teams are tied for the lead after two races: Lucas Rual/Emile Amoros FRA, Richard Schultheis/Fabian Rieger GER and Keanu Prattner/Jakob Flachberger AUT. Joshua Richner/Corne Janssen SUI are 47th. ----- Freya Black/Saskia Tidey GBR and Johanne and Andrea Schmidt DEN share the lead in the 49ersFX with two heat wins each. ----- In ILCA 6, Emma Plaschaert BEL won both races. Maud Jayet SUI follows in 4th place, Rosine Baudet SUI is 29th, and Anja Von Allmen SUI 33rd of the 113 participants. ----- In the ILCA 7, Micky Beckett GBR, Ethan McCaully IRL, and Filip Jurisic CRO share the lead on equal points. Martin Verhulst follows in 101st place of the 181 participants. ----- In the iQ Foil Windsurf, Olympic medallists Grae Morris AUS and Luuc Van Opzeland NED lead, with Elia Colombo SUI in 39th place out of 107 participants. ----- Huancheng Zhao/Su Sha CHN are first in the Nacra-17 with places 2/1/1, followed by Gianluigi Ugolini/Maria Giubilai ITA and John Gimson/Anna Burnet GBR. ----- All rankings and the report.

The Olympic countdown for Los Angeles 2028 begins today in Palma with the Trofeo Princesa Sofia. 800 boats and boards from 54 nations are registered for the first World Cup of the year. Although not all Olympic medallists are taking part, numerous junior and newly formed teams ensure the highest level. ----- Worth mentioning is the change of 5-time ILCA Olympic participant Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA, who will compete in his 6th Olympic campaign in 2028 in the 49er with Jérémy Mion FRA. He will be up against 2008 Olympic champion Jonas Warrer DEN, who is making a comeback together with Mathias Sletten DEN. Also taking part are the Swiss junior teams Joshua Richner/Corne Janssen SUI and Pablo Rüegge/Finn Meichle SUI. ----- A strong Swiss team will be competing in the ILCA 6: In addition to Olympic fourth-placed Maud Jayet SUI, Anja Von Allmen SUI, who has a four-month training winter in Australia behind her, and Rosine Baudet SUI, who has already shown good results in her preparatory regattas in southern Europe, will also participate. ----- The two iQ-Foil windsurfing fleets are very competitive with all Olympic medallists; Switzerland is represented by Elia Colombo SUI and Sebastian Schärer SUI, as well as Elena Sendera SUI in the women's event. ----- In the ILCA7, four-time Palma winner Micky Beckett GBR will start as the favorite, having narrowly missed out on the bronze medal in Marseille under questionable circumstances in 4th place. Gauthier and Martin Verhulst SUI will be competing for Switzerland. The kite-foilers will have an Olympic rematch: Olympic winner Valentin Bontus AUT will be chased by series winner Max Mäder SGP. Switzerland will be represented by Felix Hecht SUI, Gian Stragiotti SUI and Karl Mäder SUI. ----- In the Nacra 17, Gianluigi Ugolini/Maria Giubilai ITA and the two-time Olympic medallists John Gimson/Anna Burnet GBR will probably duel for victory. Andrea Aschierî/Tine Rossel SUI and Marie Mazuay/Clément Guignard SUI will be competing for Switzerland. ----- All entry lists and the official preview.

The best conditions prevailed yesterday for the finals of the Dakhla World Cup. ----- Mathis Ghio FRA in the men's event and Maddalena Spanu ITA in the women's event came out on top. ----- The rankings and the report.

Yesterday, the qualifications for today's Medal Series were completed on Dakhla bay in fresh winds and flat water: The first two are directly in the final, and the ranks 3-9 decide the other two finalists. ----- Mathis Ghio FRA won the men's qualification ahead of Kamil Manowiecki POL and Francesco Capuzzo ITA. Thomas Goodricke SUI finished 9th in the Silverfleet (26th overall). ----- Maddalena Spanu ITA dominated the women's race yesterday again. Emilia Kosti GRE in 2nd place is also directly in the final. Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI in 9th place qualified for the Medal Series today. ----- The rankings and the report.

Yesterday there were good conditions again on the Moroccan Atlantic coast with around 20 knots, 8 more short track races could be sailed. Mathis Ghio FRA won 8 times in his group and took the lead ahead of Kamil Manowiecki POL. Maddalena Spanu ITA defended her lead in the women's race. The report.

The Wingfoil World Cup in Morocco began yesterday with the long-distance race. ----- Kamil Manowiecki POL won the men's race ahead of Julien Ratotti FRA, and Thomas Goodricke SUI was 21st. ----- Maddalena Spanu ITA won the women's race ahead of Iset Segura ESP. Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI is 9th. ----- The rankings and the report.

The iQ Games in Cadiz ended yesterday with the Medal Series, once again held in fresh winds. The constant windy conditions throughout the week created clear hierarchies in the 6 fleets. ----- The final of the Olympic men (Seniors) was exciting for a short time as the leader Grae Morris AUS had to let race winner Max Castelein NED catch up after a crash in the first final race. In the second final run, the Dutchman crashed and Olympic silver medallist Morris AUS won by a large margin. ----- Triple victory for Israel in the women's classification with Tamar Steinberg ISR at the top of the podium. Elena Sendera SUI followed in 30th place. No changes occurred in the U19 juniors: Kylian Manhaval FRA won the men's medal race too, and Robin Zeley SUI finished in an excellent 2nd place. The other Swiss sailors also did well in the fleet of the 48 participants, but did not make it to the final: Finley Evans SUI finished 11th, Devin Hauser SUI followed in 16th place. ----- In the U19 women's race, Ifke Van der Meer NED won all 13 races, including the final! ----- Julia Przybyl POL and Finn Brull NED won the U17 classifications. Ben Coldebella SUI and Miles Evans SUI followed in 44th and 45th place. ----- All rankings and the report.

Fresh winds between 25 and 32 kn allowed only the Olympic men three more sporty races in the big waves yesterday. ----- Grae Morris AUS won three times and thus qualified directly for the final in today's final series with second-placed Finn Hawkins GBR. Robin Zeley SUI is also directly in the final as the excellent 2nd of the U19 men. Ranks 3-8 will determine the other 2 starters in the final series today. ----- The rankings and the daily report.

Another Kiteboarding World Cup starts today on the Cape Verdean island. At the start 24 men and 12 women. The competitions can be followed via Live-Ticker. The preview.

Yesterday in Cadiz there were lighter winds for the first time. After some waiting time 4 sprint races were sailed, a new format that makes the races exciting even in light winds. With 3 race wins Tamar Steinberg ISR clearly took the lead, Olympic medallist Sharon Kantor ISR is already 12 points behind in 2nd place. Elena Sendera SUI is now 30th. There was also a triple winner in the men's event with Grae Morris AUS, but Finn Hawkings GBR remains close behind with a 4-point deficit. Kylian Manhaval FRA dominated the men's U19 classification with 4 race wins. Robin Zeley SUI is now 13 points behind in 2nd place, but was able to extend his lead over 3rd place to 25 points. Finley Evans SUI is now 11th and Devin Hauser SUI also improved slightly to 16th place. Yfke Van der Meer NED continues to lead the women's U19 rankings. Julia Przybyl POL and Finn Brull NED continue to lead the U17 rankings. All rankings and the daily report.