The final day of the 2026 European Championship turned out to be the hardest of the whole regatta, and in the end it was the one day the Baltic refused to play along.
The Nacra 17 fleet launched on time for a midday start and spent the next three and a half hours on the water, starting race after race that had to be abandoned as the conditions kept falling apart. While the Nacras waited out there, the 49erFX fleet, last in the schedule, had their day cancelled ashore. The 49ers were sent out to try their luck, but they too were called back without a single completed race. By mid afternoon the race committee accepted what the water had been telling everyone all day. There would be no racing, and the standings from Saturday night would decide the titles.
It is a strange way to end a championship, but it takes nothing away from the teams who spent five days earning their place at the top.
49erFX: Canada Does It Again
For the second year in a row, Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance are Open European Champions. The Canadian sisters won this event in Thessaloniki last summer and repeated it here in Eckernförde with a week of typically relentless sailing, saving their best day for the last day of racing when they posted a 3, 1, 1 to take the overall lead. Once again they simply refused to have a bad day when it mattered.
And once again, the European title itself goes to Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille. Just like last year, the German pair finish as the top European boat, this time in second place overall, and doing it at home in front of their own crowd makes it even sweeter.
France’s Mathilde Lovadina and Lou Berthomieu, the new pairing who climbed the leaderboard all week long, take third overall and the Vice European Champion title, a remarkable result in their first season together. Poland’s Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak complete the European podium with bronze.
49er: The Kiwis Keep Winning Everything They Enter
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush are Open European Champions. Written down like that it sounds simple, but consider what it means. The New Zealanders won this title in Thessaloniki last year, won the World Championship in Quiberon this spring, and have now won in Eckernförde too. They barely race in Europe outside the major championships, and every time they show up, they leave with the trophy. Right now they are the most dangerous team in the fleet and without question the ones to beat.
What makes it even more impressive is that Menzies is doing all of this at just 21 years old, while also driving in the America’s Cup. Juggling both worlds at that age is hard to imagine, and yet here we are.
James Grummett and Rhos Hawes led this championship for most of the week and finish second overall, which crowns them European Champions, a first major title for the British pair and one that has been coming for a long time.
Poland’s Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch take third overall and the Vice European Champion title, while the German crowd got one more reason to cheer as Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger, fourth overall, claim the European bronze.
Nacra 17: Heartbreak and History
The Nacra 17 fleet spent the longest day on the water and got nothing back for it, and for one team the cancellation stung more than for anyone else.
Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson are the 2026 European Champions. They earned it the hard way, sailing a patient, consistent week and pouncing on Saturday when the long time leaders finally cracked. After winning the overall trophy at the Princess Sofia earlier this year, this title confirms what everyone in the fleet already suspected. The Swedes have arrived at the very top of the class.
John Gimson and Anna Burnet could not quite defend their crown but finish as Vice European Champions after a charging final few days that included four race wins across Friday and Saturday.
And then there is the Dutch story. Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman led this regatta from the first gun on Tuesday until Saturday afternoon. One bad day cost them the yellow jersey, and with no racing on Sunday there was no way to take it back. They finish with the bronze medal, and it is fair to say it is not the colour they hoped for as the regatta went on. It is a cruel way to end the week, but this team has so much to be proud of. They showed real dominance through the regatta, they announced themselves as genuine title contenders, and if this week proved anything, it is that their time is coming.
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The final day of the elimination series had a slower start than usual. With the breeze forecast to build later in the day, racing was scheduled for a 12:00 start for the Nacra 17 fleet and the 49er and 49erFX Gold fleets — and after a short postponement, the fleets got their full program in: three races each for the skiffs, and four for the Nacra 17s.
And what a day it was. The leaderboards were shaken in every class, the jury had a busy evening, and Sunday’s Finals — just two races, with all scores now adjusted so that no boat carries a gap bigger than 9 points — promise a genuinely open fight for every title.
49er: Menzies & Rush Survive a Wobble to Keep the Yellow Jersey
It was a tougher day at the office for Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush — a 15, 10, 8 by their standards counts as a wobble — but the World Champions did enough to carry the yellow jersey into the Finals, eight points clear of James Grummett and Rhos Hawes. The Brits could not quite find the scores to retake the lead they held for most of the week, but with the Finals format compressing everything, they are very much still in this. Poland’s Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch closed their day with a 4th to sit third, just two points further back.
The home crowd had plenty to cheer: Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger put together an impressive Gold fleet scoreline — a 10, 5, 2 — to climb to fourth, leapfrogging Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn, whose tricky day dropped the young Kiwis to fifth.
Uruguay’s Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz opened the day with a bullet to sit sixth, and Spain’s Wizner brothers, Martin and Jaime, produced a superb 2, 1 in the first two races to surge to seventh. Sébastien Schneiter and Arno de Planta, Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove, and Italy’s Lorenzo Pezzilli and Tobia Torroni — who grabbed the final ticket with a 2nd place in the middle race — complete the ten boats going through to Sunday’s Finals.
The 49er fleet kept the jury busy too, with four hearings from the day’s opening race — three of them involving the German boat of Schultheis and Rieger, who protested both the Swiss and an Italian boat over separate right-of-way incidents, while Schneiter and de Planta counter-protested the Germans over contact during the start procedure, and a Swedish crew protested Elliott Wells and Freddie Lonsdale over contact at a mark. In the end, the decisions produced only minor adjustments to the Race 12 scores, and the ten finalists are unchanged and confirmed.
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49erFX: Drama Everywhere — On the Water and in the Protest Room
Where to begin. The final day of the FX elimination series had everything: big moves, big collapses, and a stack of protest flags.
Start at the top, where Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance did exactly what champions do. The Canadians posted a 3, 1, 1 — their best day of the week at the perfect moment — to head into the Finals as clear leaders. Not that the scoreboard margin matters much now: a 34-point cushion on the water has been compressed to exactly 9 by the Finals adjustment. What does matter is the form, and right now nobody is sailing better.
Behind them, the German fans finally got their moment: Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille opened the day with a bullet and climbed to second overall, with France’s Mathilde Lovadina and Lou Berthomieu — who just keep climbing — right behind in third after yet another superb day. Poland’s Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak slipped from second to fourth, and Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer gave Germany a second boat in the top five with a strong 7, 3, 2.
And then there is the fall of the Italians. Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi, who led this championship for days, have endured a brutal 48 hours — a disqualification, a retirement, and a string of deep results have dropped them all the way to eighth. They make the Finals, but the team that looked untouchable on Wednesday now needs a miracle on Sunday. In happier Italian news, Sofia Giunchiglia and Giulia Schio sit sixth, ahead of World Champions Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland in seventh. The 2024 European Champions Isaura Maenhaut and Anouk Geurts slip to ninth after a jury-room DSQ (more below), and there is a lovely story in tenth, where Denmark’s Schmidt sisters, Johanne and Andrea, held on to the final Finals spot.
Britain’s Freya Black and Saskia Tidey, who crashed out of the top 10 on a nightmare afternoon — and the jury room made it worse. Of the two protests lodged against GBR 24 from Race 15, one (from Melzacka and Jankowiak) was withdrawn, but the jury upheld Gabriela Czapska and Hanna Rajchert’s protest over contact at the gate, disqualifying the British pair from the race. There was also a costly decision for the 2024 European Champions: the jury upheld Katharina Schwachhofer and Elena Stoltze’s protest from Race 14, and the resulting DSQ drops Maenhaut and Geurts from eighth to ninth — one place, but with the Finals adjustment compressing the points, every position matters. The German pair’s second protest, against an American boat, was dismissed. With the recalculated scores now published, the ten finalists are confirmed.
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Nacra 17: The Dutch Finally Blink — and the Swedes Pounce
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For four days, Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman looked untouchable. Today, across four races, the Baltic finally caught up with them. A deep result they could discard, followed by an 11, 9, 11 — comfortably their worst day of the week — opened the door, and Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson charged straight through it. The Princess Sofía overall winners posted a 2 and a 3 in the heart of the day and now lead the European Championship on 62 points heading into the Finals.
John Gimson and Anna Burnet smell blood too. The reigning European Champions bookended their four-race day with two bullets to sit second on 66, with the Dutch now third on 69. Three boats, seven points — and with the Finals adjustment tightening it all further, Sunday’s two-race showdown between these three could hardly be set up better.
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Behind the leading trio, Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown hold fourth ahead of Italy’s Federico Figlia di Granara and Caterina Sedmak, while New Zealand’s Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart took a race win of their own to secure sixth. Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz, Archie Gargett and Sarah Hoffman, Sinem Kurtbay and Alican Kaynar, and Belgium’s Lucas Claeyssens and Eline Verstraelen — who held their nerve in the fight for the cut — round out the ten finalists.
Sunday: Two Races. Nine Points. Everything to Play For.
Sunday brings the Finals: two races for each class, with all scores adjusted so that no boat starts more than 9 points from the one ahead. The adjusted standings tell the story of just how open this is. In the 49er, Menzies and Rush carry a lead of 8 over Grummett and Hawes, with Staniul and Sztorch 2 further back. In the FX, the Canadians hold exactly 9 over Bergmann and Wille, with Lovadina and Berthomieu just 1 point behind them. And in the Nacra 17, no adjustment was even needed at the top — Järudd/Jonsson, Gimson/Burnet and Offerman/Houtman start the day 62, 66 and 69, as close as a title fight gets. Whatever has happened this week, the championships will be decided on the water on the final day — and if this event has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
Don’t forget: the spectator boat heads out on Sunday to follow the Finals up close, and a few spots are still available — reach out to alexia.lahoud@49er.org, the class media manager, to grab one.
Follow the deciders with live tracking on our website, race replays with commentary on YouTube, and live updates across our social channels.
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Eckernförde, Germany — July 10, 2026
Day 4 brought the start of the elimination series for the 49er fleet — and another tricky, patchy forecast that turned racing into a game of chess. With the breeze light and unstable, today was all about finding the pressure on the water and tacking in the right places, and the teams that read the racecourse best were richly rewarded.
49er: Menzies & Lee Rush Take the Yellow Jersey — and They Barely Even Race in Europe
Gold fleet racing began today, with the best 49er sailors in the world battling it out on Course C — the furthest course from the club — and nobody played the strategic game better than the Kiwis. It was a great day for both New Zealand boats: World Champions Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush posted a 4, 1, 2 to take the overall lead, while Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn added an 8, 3, 3 to climb to third.
Other teams in the fleet were left commenting on the incredible speed of NZL 94 — and here is the remarkable thing about Menzies and Lee Rush: they only raced the Europeans and Worlds last year and the Worlds this year, skipping the Sailing Grand Slam events entirely, and they two of those events. Now, the way they are going, they could very well make it three from four. We are not predicting anything — but with the breeze forecast to stay light and similar to today, conditions that clearly suit NZL 94, the signs are ominous.
The Kiwis have taken the yellow jersey off British shoulders — but do not count out James Grummett and Rhos Hawes, who led now and will be pushing hard to grab that top spot back tomorrow. And here is the crucial thing about this championship’s format: no matter how big the gaps get, the score adjustments going into the final day mean no boat will be more than 9 points ahead. Nothing is decided until Sunday — and that keeps absolutely everyone on their toes.
It was not a great day for France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin, who are still nursing Erwan’s wrist injury from yesterday’s start-line collision but continue to hold a top-10 place. Like many of the front-runners, they prefer the breeze, so tomorrow’s light forecast will be another test — we hope the wrist can hold up.
Poland’s Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch had an up-and-down day but finished it in the best way possible, with a bullet, to sit fourth. And keep an eye on Uruguay’s Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz in fifth: the 2024 Open European Champions from La Grande Motte are hoping to do it again — and they absolutely still can. Hernán is a master at reading the shifts, and days like today are exactly where that skill pays.
Behind them, the fight for the Final Series cut is on. Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove sit sixth, tied on points with the Uruguayans, while Switzerland’s Sébastien Schneiter and Arno de Planta and Norway’s Berthet brothers, Mathias and Markus, hold the last places inside the top 10. Just outside, Spain’s Wizner brothers, Martin and Jaime, and the Italian crews of Jan Pernarcic/Bruno Festo and Lorenzo Pezzilli/Tobia Torroni will have to fight hard tomorrow — as will Elliott Wells and Freddie Lonsdale, who slipped to 14th on a tough day and know exactly what is required.
Nacra 17: Foiling or Floating — a Day of Huge Margins
The Nacra 17s raced the first part of the day on the Alpha course, and the forecast was very, very tricky: shifty breeze, patchy pressure, and conditions right on the edge between foiling and not foiling. The boats that managed to get up on the foils gained a huge advantage over those that could not — a brutal equation on a day like this. The fleet completed two races: one in a decent breeze that got them flying, and a second in really light air.
At the top, no change — and yet more daylight. Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman added a race win to their tally and lead on 24 points, with Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson having a strong day (4, 2) to move clearly into second.
John Gimson and Anna Burnet had their worst race of the week today — a 19th — but with that score going straight into the discard, the reigning European Champions still climbed to third overall with a great overall scoreline. Australia’s Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown slipped to fourth after a tough day in the fickle stuff, with Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz fifth and Italy’s Federico Figlia di Granara and Caterina Sedmak moving up to sixth after opening the day with a second place.
Sadly, the fleet also lost one of its teams today. After yesterday’s crash with a Spanish boat in which Bjarne was hit on the head, the pair have decided to retire from the championship, pack up their boat, and prioritize rest and recovery before heading to the OCR regatta to train at the 2028 Olympic venue. Everyone in the boat park wishes them a full and speedy recovery.
Tomorrow is the final day of the elimination series, and the battle for the top-10 spots that grant entry into the Finals is finely poised: New Zealand’s Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart and Belgium’s Lucas Claeyssens and Eline Verstraelen currently hold the last two spots for the finals, with Austria’s Laura Farese and Matthäus Zöchling chasing hard just outside.
49erFX: New Leaders as the Canadians Keep Grinding
Racing in the afternoon, the 49erFX Gold fleet got the best of the day’s breeze and completed all three scheduled races on the second day of their elimination series — and at the top, we have new leaders.
Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance did what they do best: relentless consistency. The Canadians’ 8, 8, 19 was enough to take the overall lead on 66 points, as Italy’s Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi endured their toughest day yet — an 11, a 12 and a retirement — and dropped to third. Between them, Poland’s Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak climbed to second with a superb 6, 2, 11, sitting level on points with the Italians.
The story of the day, though, belongs to FRA 19. Mathilde Lovadina and Lou Berthomieu had their best day yet — a 4, 1, 3 — rocketing them all the way up to fifth overall. It is a super result for the French pair, who told us they felt they were struggling a little at the Worlds, with so many events back-to-back that they barely had time to reset and focus on training and improving. These conditions clearly worked in their favor — and with more of the same forecast, tomorrow might too.
The reigning World Champions had a good day as well: Norway’s Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland posted a bullet and a fourth alongside an average score to sit sixth — with the last day of elimination still to come, anything can happen. Italy’s Sofia Giunchiglia and Giulia Schio, also had a great day (2, 5, 10) to break into the top 10. And do not forget about fourth place: Belgium’s Isaura Maenhaut and Anouk Geurts, the 2024 European Champions, are quietly putting together another very consistent championship — they know exactly how to win this title, and they are well within reach of doing it again.
And then there is the fight for the cut. Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille (eighth) and Freya Black and Saskia Tidey (ninth) are inside for now but far from safe, with Katharina Schwachhofer and Elena Stoltze holding the final qualifying spot for the home fleet. Lurking just outside on nearly identical points: World Championship silver medallist Vilma Bobeck with Ebba Berntsson, Olympic Champion Odile Lambriex-van Aanholt with Karlinde van Arendonk, and a three-way tie including Sophie Steinlein/Catherine Bartelheimer, Gabriela Czapska/Hanna Rajchert and Anna Barth/Emma Kohlhoff. Tomorrow will be an interesting one indeed.
Follow all the action with live tracking on our website, daily race replays with commentary on YouTube, and daily photos, stories and VNRs across our social media channels.
Eckernförde, Germany — July 9, 2026
As predicted, Day 3 brought a very different Eckernförde. The big breeze of the opening days gave way to much lighter, shifty conditions that turned the racing technical and demanding — a day for patience, lane management and reading the water. And across all three fleets, it produced some moments that really stood out.
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49er: Grummett & Hawes Hold Firm — and Drama at the Start for the French
The 49ers were first out and managed two races to wrap up their preliminary series at eight races. The big question coming into today was whether yellow jersey holders James Grummett and Rhos Hawes could keep their form when the breeze softened — and they answered convincingly. The British pair sailed incredibly well in the completely different conditions, even scoring a second place in the final race of qualifying to protect their overall lead.
Behind them, the story of the day. France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Péquin never got to race at all: at a start, a Dutch boat attempting a port-tack start ran into them, injuring Erwan’s wrist. The 2024 World Champions had to retire from the day and head to the hospital for an X-ray. Fortunately, the jury awarded them redress for both races — and the average points worked in their favor, lifting them all the way up to second overall behind GBR 4. We wish Erwan a speedy recovery and hope to see them back on the water tomorrow.
World Champions Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush sit third heading into the Final Series, with Poland’s Mikołaj Staniul and Jakub Sztorch fourth. And a word for Elliott Wells and Freddie Lonsdale: when we caught up with the young British pairing in the morning, they admitted they were not so sure about their chances in the lighter breeze — then went out and posted a 7 and a 3 to sit fifth overall. Not bad for a weak point.
One more moment worth celebrating: in the Blue fleet, South Africa’s Sean Kavanagh and Max Celliers sailed an incredible race to take a win. The pair, who came all the way from Cape Town, were injured in the opening days of the championship but recovered enough to keep racing this week — and were rewarded with what might well be the first-ever race win by an African team in the 49er class. A brilliant story on a tricky day.
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Tomorrow, the 49ers split into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets, with the top 25 boats going into Gold.
49erFX: Canadians Dominate Gold Fleet Day 1, Italians Hold the Lead
The 49erFX fleet began their Final Series today — and the first day of Gold fleet racing belonged to the Canadians. Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance, the current European Champions from Thessaloniki and recent winners in Kiel, took two race wins in commanding style. No big surprise here: these two perform in all conditions, and today they showed exactly why they hold the titles they do. The charge lifts them to second overall, just three points off the lead.
Because the overall lead still belongs to the Italians. Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi had a rough start to the day — a 23rd, which immediately became their discard — but produced a big comeback in the following races to protect their advantage at the top. After nine races, they lead on 28 points to the Canadians’ 31, setting up a proper head-to-head for the title.
Rounding out the podium spots are Germany’s Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer, who put together a solid day of Gold fleet racing to sit third, leading the home fleet ahead of Belgium’s Isaura Maenhaut and Anouk Geurts in fourth and teammates Marla Bergmann and Hanna Wille — who closed the day with a bullet — in fifth.
Nacra 17: The Dutch Stretch Away as Gimson & Burnet Find Their Groove
First things first: Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman are still out front — and somehow further ahead than before. The Dutch didn’t win a race today, but their consistency in the tricky breeze extended their advantage to the point where they now have half the points of second place: 16 to 32. Relentless.
But the day itself belonged to GBR 21. John Gimson and Anna Burnet took two bullets from today’s three races and are dangerously finding their groove again. The reigning European Champions — who won in Thessaloniki last summer with a day to spare — cannot repeat that feat under the new format, but make no mistake: they can absolutely still win this title. They have climbed to fourth, and at the top of this fleet, it really could be anyone’s game.
Second place is now a dead heat on 32 points between Australia’s Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown — who closed their day with a race win — and Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson, with the tiebreak going the Australians’ way. France’s Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz sit fifth.
For compatriots Archie Gargett and Sarah Hoffman, today was a tougher one. The pair, who had been right at the top end of the leaderboard, told us earlier in the week that they are strongest in the big breeze we had on the first two days — and the lighter air today showed in their scores as they slipped to sixth. With similar conditions forecast for tomorrow, we will see if they can take today’s lessons and apply them straight away.
Follow all the action with live tracking on our website, daily race replays with commentary on YouTube, and daily photos, stories and VNRs across our social media channels.
Gold: Diego Botín & Florian Trittel — Los Gallos (Spain)
Taking the win in Halifax were Diego Botín and Florian Trittel, who claimed Olympic gold in the 49er at the Paris 2024 Games in Marseille — just 19 days after winning SailGP’s Season 4 championship in San Francisco. That double in a single summer remains one of the most remarkable achievements in modern sailing.
In Halifax, Los Gallos made it count when it mattered most, securing their first event win of the 2026 season and sending a clear message to the rest of the fleet. The 49er school keeps delivering at the very top.
Silver: Nathan Outteridge — Artemis SailGP Team (Sweden)
Finishing second was the Artemis SailGP Team, skippered by Nathan Outteridge — a man whose 49er CV is as long as it is glittering. A three-time ISAF Youth World Champion, Outteridge won Olympic gold in the 49er at the 2012 London Games with Iain Jensen, then followed it with silver at Rio 2016. Across his career he has accumulated over 15 world championship medals across multiple classes, with the 49er at the heart of it all.
Now flying the flag for Sweden in SailGP’s newest team, Outteridge pushed Los Gallos hard in a tight final, proving once again that the racing instincts forged in the 49er translate seamlessly to the biggest stages in sailing.
Bronze: Sébastien Schneiter — Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team (Switzerland)
Completing a remarkable 49er clean sweep of the podium was Switzerland’s Sébastien Schneiter. The Geneva-born driver campaigned the 49er at Paris 2024 alongside Arno de Planta, finishing eighth — and he has used that Olympic campaign as a direct development pathway into SailGP. De Planta himself is part of the Swiss SailGP setup, keeping that 49er DNA firmly embedded in the programme.
Schneiter’s third place in Halifax is another data point in a growing body of evidence: if you want to build an elite SailGP sailor, start them in a 49er.
The 49er Pipeline Is Real
Halifax wasn’t a coincidence. It was a pattern made unmistakable.
The 49er has long been the class where the world’s best racing sailors prove themselves — its speed, physical demands, and unforgiving tactical environment produce sailors who are ready for anything. The F50 catamarans that SailGP races are a world apart in size and power, yet the podium in Halifax read like a 49er world championship roll of honour.
For anyone who asks why the 49er matters, point them to Halifax. The only question is, which skiff teams will be next?
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Here’s how it went down for our three classes.
49er — Men’s Skiff
With 90 boats on the start line, the fleet was one of the largest and most competitive of the season. After four days of fleet racing, the top ten advanced to the Final Series, where two decisive races reshuffled the leaderboard one last time.
Swiss duo Joshua Richner and Nilo Schärer emerged as champions, sailing a measured and controlled Final Series to finish on 17 points. They were never flashy, but never wrong — a sign of real maturity at the top of a stacked fleet.
Israel’s Illy Wureit and Yuval Barnoon held on for silver, while the USA’s Nevin Snow and Ian MacDialmid — who had worn the yellow jersey during fleet racing and came in wearing the red bib for the Final Series — delivered when it counted to claim bronze.
Final Podium:
| Pos | Helm / Crew | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| Joshua Richner / Nilo Schärer | SUI | |
| Illy Wureit / Yuval Barnoon | ISR | |
| Nevin Snow / Ian MacDialmid | USA |
49erFX — Women’s Skiff
The 49erFX had 52 boats racing, with ten qualifying for the Final Series. The battle at the front was tight throughout the week — at the midpoint, Canada’s Lewin-Lafrance sisters and Great Britain’s Freya Black / Saskia Tidey were tied on points, with the Germans hot on their heels.
Georgia and Antonia Lewin-Lafrance of Canada ultimately converted their week’s consistency into gold, finishing on 28 points. The Canadian sisters, who have been one of the most exciting teams on the circuit, showed real composure in the Final Series to hold off a determined Estonian challenge.
Helen Pais and Helen Ausman of Estonia claimed silver at 33 points, with Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer of Germany taking bronze at 34.
Final Podium:
| Pos | Helm / Crew | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia & Antonia Lewin-Lafrance | CAN | 28 | |
| Helen Pais / Helen Ausman | EST | 33 | |
| Sophie Steinlein / Catherine Bartelheimer | GER | 34 |
Nacra 17 — Mixed Multihull
The Nacra 17 fleet of 21 boats raced a nine-race series with one discard, no Final Series due to lack of wind and a delayed racing scheduale — just clean, cumulative sailing from start to finish. And one team made it look easy.
John Gimson and Anna Burnet of Great Britain were dominant from day one. By the midpoint of the regatta they had four race wins from five starts and a ten-point lead. They never let go. The pair closed out the week with 23 points — 16 clear of the next boat — in a display that underlines why they remain among the world’s best in the class.
Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson claimed silver with 39 points, edging out Australia’s Ruben Booth and Rita Booth on tiebreak — both teams finishing level on 39 points.
Final Podium:
| Pos | Helm / Crew | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Gimson / Anna Burnet | GBR | 23 | |
| Emil Järudd / Hanna Jonsson | SWE | 39 | |
| Ruben Booth / Rita Booth | AUS | 39 |
Looking Ahead
Kiel Week 2026 was another strong statement from all three classes. The new Sailing Grand Slam scoring format adds another layer of drama to what are already some of the most exciting boats in Olympic sailing — expect it to generate plenty of debate as the season continues.
Full results are available at 49er.org and nacra17.org
]]>The countdown is over. Today, the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 fleets hit the water at Kiel Week 2026 — one of the most iconic regattas on the planet and another unmissable chapter of the Sailing Grand Slam
Welcome to the Baltic
Kiel Week is no ordinary regatta. Held each June on the shores of the Baltic Sea at the Olympic Center Kiel-Schilksee, it’s a fixture that draws the world’s fastest Olympic sailing classes together in one stunning venue. For the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 fleets, racing runs June 20–24, with the top ten boats in each class advancing to a two-race Final on Wednesday.
Today’s first guns fire at 13:00 local time for the 49erFX (Women’s skiff) and Nacra 17 (Mixed multihull), with the 49er (Men’s skiff) following at 15:30. Three races are scheduled for each fleet on opening day — expect fireworks from the start.
Part of the Sailing Grand Slam
Kiel Week sits firmly on the Sailing Grand Slam calendar — the season-defining series of world-class events where the Olympic classes go head-to-head outside of the Games. Results here carry weight, reputations are built (and tested), and the racing never disappoints.
The Format
The competition runs through a preliminary series and an elimination series before the top 10 overall qualifiers compete in a two-race Final on Wednesday. With three races per day and tight time limits — around 25–30 minutes target time for the skiffs and Nacra 17 — every point matters from the first gun.
Watch Live Today
Kiel Week TV is broadcasting LIVE today — and the 49erFX is on the schedule right now! Here’s the full live broadcast lineup for the week:
| Date | Class |
|---|---|
| 49erFX | |
| 49er | |
| Mon, June 22 | ILCA 6 |
| Tue, June 24 | ILCA 7 |
| Medal Races |
Daily highlights in English go live from 7pm every evening.
Watch here: kielerwoche.tv/media
All content is rights-free and available for download without registration — just send a broadcast notice to mgroeschner@jacarandasportconsulting.de after use.
How to Follow the Action
Results & event updates: Head to the dedicated event page on the 49er class website for live results, news, and race-by-race updates throughout the week: 49er.org/events/2026-kiel-week
On social media, follow the classes directly for behind-the-scenes content, race highlights, and real-time updates:
- 49er & 49erFX: @49erclass on Instagram | @49erclass on X
- Nacra 17: @nacra17class on Instagram | @nacra17class on X
- Kiel Week Sailing: @kielerwochesailing on Instagram
The event also runs a Kieler Woche WhatsApp Channel sharing real-time updates — flagpole signals, schedule changes, protest time limits, and ceremony info — as well as a Kieler Woche WebChannel chatbot where you can ask about current status, weather, and the daily schedule.
Photos & Media Content
The official Kiel Week Sailing Media Portal has you covered for photos, videos, and press material throughout the regatta. Everything you need to illustrate the racing is in one place: media.sailing.kieler-woche.de
The Full Event Website
For official notices, results, schedule updates, and everything Kiel Week: sailing.kieler-woche.de
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On May 17, 2026 — Norway’s national day — Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland crossed the finish line first in the final race of the 49erFX World Championships in Quiberon, France, clinching Norway’s first-ever 49erFX world title by a single point over Spain’s Paula Barceló and Maria Cantero.
They were the only Norwegian FX team at the Worlds. And they are now World Champions.
A Friendship Forged on the Water
The story of Pia and Nora starts not on the race course, but in Asker, a small sailing community outside Oslo, where both girls first climbed into an Optimist dinghy at the age of five. Their families have deep roots in the sport: both have parents who are accomplished sailors, and both have older sisters who came before them on the water. Emilie (Pia’s sister) and Maren (Nora’s sister) even teamed up together in the 29er class, inadvertently laying the path for their younger siblings to follow.
Pia and Nora did the same, joining forces in the 29er at 15 and 14 years old. In 2018, they won the World Sailing Junior World Championship — a gold medal that signalled bigger things ahead. “We’ve sailed together since 2015, so we know each other inside out,” says Nora. “We’re like sisters, but also best friends.”
Building Towards the Top
In 2019, they made the jump to the 49erFX, starting with the Junior World Championship held on home waters in Norway. They entered a Norwegian sailing world with imposing standard-bearers in Helene Næss and Marie Rønningen, two-time Olympians and among the world’s strongest FX teams. Rather than be intimidated, Pia and Nora embedded themselves alongside that group, training with Thomas Guttormsen’s squad and top teams from the Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland. “Being surrounded by such strong teams helped us develop faster and take important steps towards the top level of the sport,” says Nora.
The other crucial ingredient was coach Gasper, whom they first met at the 2020 European Championships in Austria. By the 2023 Worlds in The Hague — where they finished 8th — he had become their dedicated coach. “It feels more like a family than just a coach-athlete relationship,” says Nora. “He has a unique way of getting the best out of us, and we’re incredibly grateful to have him in our corner.”
U23 World Champions in 2022. 8th at the senior Worlds in 2023. Country qualification for Paris 2024. Step by step, 200 sailing days a year, more than 1,000 hours of training. Nothing left to chance.
Credit: Sailing Energy / World Sailing. 11 August 2023.
The Cruelty of 2025
At the 2025 World Championships in Cagliari, Pia and Nora led after day two — a two-point advantage over the Spanish, all the more remarkable given that Nora had been battling dehydration all day and went to hospital that evening.
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To be leading a World Championship while your crewmate is seriously ill takes a particular kind of mental strength. Ultimately, the illness took its toll. The lead slipped away, and the gold went to the Spanish.
But they came back.
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The 2026 Redemption
Quiberon, May 2026. No compatriots, no safety net — just themselves and a boat they’ve now sailed together for seven years. A training partnership formed with Belgium and Canada in 2025 proved its value during the week itself, when equipment damage mid-regatta saw both teams step in without hesitation to lend a gennaker bag and a replacement gennaker. “That kind of support means a lot to us,” says Nora.
They raced with measured consistency all week, then won the final race to clinch gold. Equal on points with Spain, it was that last race victory that made the difference. One point. One race. A lifetime of preparation.
© Sailing Energy / 49er and Nacra Class
What Makes Them Work
Eight years in the same boat gives you something no training plan can replicate. “To be honest, we can hardly remember ever arguing on land,” says Nora. “Since the very beginning, we’ve had one simple rule: before we get back to shore, we have to be friends again. It’s probably one of the reasons we’ve managed to stay such a strong team for so many years.”
Off the water, both are studying — Pia finishing a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Nora a year and a half into Digital Marketing and Management — while continuing to chase their dream. “Our dream is to one day make a living from sailing,” says Nora. “But we’re not there yet.”
A Landmark for Norwegian Sailing
Norway is not a large 49erFX nation. Næss and Rønningen carried the flag for many years with distinction. Now, Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland have done something the entire Norwegian class had never done before: won a senior 49erFX World Championship.
They did it on Norway’s national day. They did it as the only Norwegian team in the fleet. And after the heartbreak of 2025, they did it the hard way.
The 2026 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships were held in Quiberon, France, 12–17 May 2026.
]]>There were three world titles up for grabs at the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships, and at the end of Sunday’s medal racing there were three brand new world champions.
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49erFX: Norway snatch gold from Spain
In the 49erFX women’s skiff, Norwegian team Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland won the last race of the afternoon to pull off a one point victory over the 2025 world champions from Spain, Paula Barceló and Maria Cantero. They were equal on points, but by winning the last race, Andersen and Edland came out ahead and won their first-ever 49erFX world title by a single point. And they did it on Norway’s national day too. Barceló and Cantero had to settle for Spanish silver, and Poland’s Aleksandra Melzacka and Sandra Jankowiak rose all the way from eighth place at the start of the day to grab the bronze medal, just ahead of last year’s bronze medalists from Canada, the Lewin-LaFrance sisters.
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49er: New Zealand hang on to gold by skin of their teeth
In the men’s 49er, New Zealand’s young duo Sam Menzies and George Lee Rush started the day as the team to beat, and when the Kiwis won the first of the two finals races, it looked like they had the gold pretty much in the bag. However, a poor start off the line in the next race put the Kiwis on the back foot and gave them a lot to do.
Now it looked like one of the other teams might be able to snatch the gold. Australia’s Harry Price and Max Paul had started the day in second and were the closest threat to the Kiwis. However it was the European teams who came to the fore in the fluky light-to-medium conditions. Would it be Austria’s Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger who would come through, or the Dutch three-time world champions Bart Lambriex, Swen de Vos, and Floris van de Werken; or maybe Germany’s Jakob Meggendorfer and Andreas Spranger?
Around the final windward mark, the Kiwis were still well back, and it looked almost certain that one of the European teams would be set for gold. But on such an unpredictable racecourse, somehow Menzies and Lee Rush pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Near the back of the fleet at the final mark, they gybe-set in a new gust and carried the new breeze down the final run to the finish and managed to get across the line ahead of just enough boats to hang on to the gold medal.
Prettner and Flachberger ended up winning their first world medal, a silver, with Lambriex and van de Werken taking the bronze.
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Nacra 17: Gigi and Maria win a world title 12 years in the making
In the Nacra 17, Italy’s Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei started the day with an eight-point lead, which surely would be enough for them to be able to protect the gold from closest rivals, local Quiberon sailors Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz.
However, when the Italians reckoned they had started across the line too soon, they turned back to restart along with the two Swedish teams, and now Italy had to work hard to work their way back into the race and overtake some boats. They managed to find full foiling mode when others were struggling. It was a day when we saw the Nacra 17 go through all the different gear changes from full low riding to one hull out, to two hulls out, and it was changing all the time.
The Italians used all their experience of having sailed together and campaigned together for 12 years to finally win their first-ever world title, ahead of the French, who were ecstatic to take the silver medal on home waters in front of a happy home crowd. And taking second spot just ahead of John Gimson and Anna Burnet, last year’s world champions from Great Britain, who this year had to satisfy themselves with the bronze medal.
It was a really good day for the Australian team Archie Gargett and Sarah Hoffman, who earned scores of first and second to lift themselves up from ninth to fourth place overall.
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Next Stop: Europeans in Eckernförde
All three world titles were closely contested, due in part to the wildly unpredictable, exciting conditions on Quiberon Bay, which were always changing – with very few discernible patterns on the racecourse. And also, a new finals format which compressed the points gaps from across the week and brought the whole game closer for the final two-race 10-boat day of competition.
There was racing on all six days in a huge variety of conditions, including the high-wind, big-wave day three, which tested competitors and race officials alike. Class Manager Ben Remocker said: “The race committee did a great job this week in challenging conditions. They got as many races done as they could within the class wind limits and delivered a world-class regatta. Congratulations to our three new world champions, and now we look forward to the European Championships in Eckernförde, Germany in a few weeks’ time.”
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