Wind- & Kitesurfing

The starting signal for the first races of the Youth World Championships will be given today at 2pm on Lake Garda. A total of 480 participants from 70 nations will be competing in the 10 classes. With the exception of the 420 Women and the Formula Kite, Switzerland is represented in all classes. Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI, who has just won the U17 Kite-Foiler World Championship, has big chances of success. The races will be broadcast live via GPS-Tracking. The reports.

The Junior World Championships for Olympic iQ Foil windsurfers came to an end yesterday in Embrun, a mountain lake in the Savoy Alps. ----- In the U19 classifications, both titles went to Italy: Medea Falconi ITA won the women's event with a 53-point lead, followed by Chloë Huguenin SUI in 25th place. ----- Leonardo Tomasini ITA won the men's event, with Noam Kobel SUI taking the silver medal! ----- Maria Rudowicz POL won the women's U17 category. Ernestine Inversin SUI was only eliminated in the semi-finals and finished 5th. ----- Kylian Manhaval FRA won the men's U17 category, which was huge with 123 participants, by a massive margin. Yoan Györvary SUI was the best Swiss in 61st place. ----- The final rankings.

The final of the Big Air World Championships was held yesterday on Gran Canaria in strong winds, and the jumps were correspondingly high at around 8 meters. Nia Suardiez ESP won the women's final (see Video). Christopher McDonald USA won the men's final ahead of Malo Guénolé FRA. ----- The report.

Yesterday, the Windsurfing Pro World Cup was concluded in Gran Canaria with a final SlalomX. ----- Sara-Quita Offringa ARU in the women's event and Pierre Montafon FRA in the men's event took the victories. ----- The PWA-Website with report and rankings.

The Junior World Championships for Olympic kite foilers came to an end yesterday with the finals, which were once again held in good conditions. Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI, who had won 13 of the 14 qualifying races, first had to tremble in the final: Jan Voerster GER, who qualified via the semi-finals, moved up to the Swiss with two race wins, in the 3rd final race he then took the race win necessary for the title - the first major title for the 16-year-old Swiss ! Karl Maeder SUI in 18th place and Cédric Baker SUI in 21st place rounded off the good Swiss result. In the women's race, Marisa Turienza ARG made everything clear in the first final run. Lysa Caval FRA and Derin Atakan TUR took the other medals. The results and the report.

Although the professional windsurfing tour has fallen somewhat out of the spotlight due to the emergence of foilers, the PWA World Tour events still have a large fleet at the start. Wave and SlalomX events were on the programme at the World Cup in Gran Canaria. Sara-Quita Offringa ARU won both disciplines in the women's event, Pauline Katz SUI came 6th in the wave classification, Marino Gil ESP won the men's wave classification and Pierre Montafon FRA won the SlalomX event. The PWA-Website with report and pictures.

Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI continued his winning streak at the end of the qualifications for today's Medal Races and has thus qualified directly for the final of the best 4, together with 2nd place Luca Fonseco BRA. Ranks 3-10 will determine the other two finalists in two semi-finals today. ----- In the women's event, Maria Turienzo ARG and Lysa Caval FRA have qualified directly for the final. ----- The rankings and the daily report.

There were 5 races yesterday at the Junior World Championship of the Olympic Kite Foilers.... and Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI won 5 times. Vojtech Koska CZE and Jan Voester GER are the first chasers. Karl Maeder SUI follows in 12th place of the 57 participants. In the women's race it was Maria Turienzo ARG who won all 5 races. Derin Atakan TUR and Lysa Caval FRA are the first runners-up. All rankings and the report.

Following the Wingfoil European Championships on Lake Silvaplana, a Freestyle Contest followed over the past weekend with the Wingfoilers meeting the Kitefoilers. The conditions were ideal with good Maloja wind and sun, as the video shows. ----- Unfortunately, we could not find any results or a report on the event website. ----- In August, Windsurfing will continue on the Engadine Lakes with the Surf Marathon and the International Olympic iQ-Foil Windsurfer Games.

The finals of the Wing Foil European Championships were held yesterday under grey skies but with good wind conditions. Mathis Ghio FRA and Maddalena Spanu ITA also dominated the finals and took the titles in superior style. Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI was eliminated in the semi-finals and finished 9th. The rankings and the final report.

The weather remains cool in the Engadin, but the Maloja wind is back. The final regattas in Gold and Silverfleet were on the programme yesterday, the qualifications for the finals will be completed today. Mathis Ghio FRA took the lead in the men's race, while Maddalena Spanu ITA continued her winning streak in the women's race. Only Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI is in the finals in the women's race in 8th place. In the men's Silverfleet, Robin Zeley SUI and Daniel Wenger SUI are 13th and 14th respectively. The rankings and the report.

Yesterday there was no wind on Lake Silvaplana and there were no further races. After 2 days Maddalena Spanu ITA and Bastien Escofet FRA are leading the classifications. Robin Zeley SUI is in 25th place in the men's category and Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI is in 7th place in the women's. The video shows that you can foil even without wind. The rankings and the report.

The second day of the Wing Foil European Championship was characterized by icy temperatures, with even a little snow in the Engadin during the night and gusty winds. Two course-races each were sailed. ----- Maddalena Spanu ITA and Bastien Escofet FRA remained on top. In the men's race, Robin Zeley SUI, having not finished the marathon on the start day, moved to 25th place with 5th and 6th ranks. Cindy Robert-Mauron SUI dropped back to 7th place. ----- The rankings and the report.

The Wing Foil World Cup in Urla was concluded yesterday with the finals. ----- The two big dominators already made everything clear in the first final race: Mathis Ghio FRA and Nia Suardiaz ESP also won the second World Cup of the year with supreme ease. Julien Rattotti FRA and Alessandro Tomasi ITA took the places of honor. The 17-year-old Nia Suardiaz ESP won the women's event ahead of Karolina Kluszczynska POL and Magdalena Spanu ITA. Cindy Robert-Mauron just missed out on the final in 11th place. ----- All rankings and the report.

The qualifications for today's medal races were completed yesterday with another 6 races. Ranks 1 and 2 - Matthis Ghio FRA and Julien Rattotti FRA in the men's race and Nia Suardiez ESP and Karolina Kluszczynska POL in the women's race - have qualified directly for the final of the best 4. Ranks 3-9 will determine the other finalists in the semi-finals. The rest of the fleet has the chance to fight for the last semi-final place in a long-distance race today. This includes Cindy Robert SUI, who is 11th in the women's race. ----- The rankings and the report.

Yesterday there were again the best wind conditions in Turkey, and 6 heats were completed. ----- Mathis Ghio FRA won all 6 of the men's races. Nia Suardiaz ESP also won all 6 races for the women. Cindy Robert SUI is now 10th. ----- The rankings and the report.

The second Wing Foil World Cup of the year began yesterday in Turkey with the marathon. It was a spectacular race with lots of crashes, as a thunderstorm (PDF) caused the wind to pick up from 10 to 20 knots right at the start, making it an exhausting adventure with the large light wind wings. The victories went to the favourites: Mathis Ghio FRA won the men's race, Nia Suardiaz ESP prevailed in the women's race, Cindy Robert SUI came 9th. The rankings and the report.

The qualifications for today's Medal Races were completed yesterday in around 12 knots of wind. ---- The first two - Max Maeder SGP and Riccardo Pianosi ITA in the men's race, and Lauriane Nolot FRA and Eleanor Aldridge GBR in the women's race - have qualified directly for the final of the top 4. Ranks 3 to 10 will determine the other two finalists in the semi-finals. ----- Elena Lengwiler SUI is also in the semi-finals, having finished 4th/2nd/dnc/2nd yesterday, and is now in 6th place. ----- Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI improved further to 14th place, missing out on the medal race by 34 points. This puts him 2nd in the U19 classification ...behind Max Maeder SGP. ----- All rankings and the report. We will also show the live broadcast today from 12h.

Moderate winds and flat water characterized the first day of the finals yesterday, and again 4 races were sailed. ----- Max Maeder SGP was again hard to beat - a 2nd and again three race wins - extended his lead to 9 points. Riccardo Pianosi ITA moved up to 2nd place, and Axel Mazella FRA is now 3rd. Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI moved up to 16th place thanks to a 3rd place finish. Bruce Kessler SUI is now 19th. ----- Lauriane Nolot FRA is leading the women's race 6 points ahead of Eleanor Aldridge GBR and Jessie Kapman FRA, tied on points. In these conditions - most were racing with the largest kite (23m2) - Elena Lengwiler SUI is considered the fastest, and with two race wins she moved up to 5th place. ----- Another four final races are on the program today - we will be broadcasting live - tomorrow the decisions will be made in the Medal Races. ----- The results and the report.

There were also fresh winds on the 3rd day of the Kite Foil World Championship, and again 4 races were sailed, which means that the qualifications for the gold fleet of the best 25 are complete. ----- Max Maeder SGP had to admit defeat for the first time after his first fall (2nd place), with 11 race wins in 12 races he continues to lead the classification. Axel Mazella FRA is doing just as well, winning all races in the second group and ranking 2nd, just one point behind Maeder. Riccardo Pianosi ITA has moved up to 3rd place. Valentin Bontus AUT, yesterday with a race win against Max Maeder SGP, moved up to 5th place. Swiss of the day was 17-year-old Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI, who moved up to 18th place with 5th/6th/7th/5th places and is also in the gold fleet, as is Bruce Kessler SUI in 20th place. ----- Loriane Nolot FRA also had to admit defeat for the first time in the women's race, but she still leads the classification with a 5-point lead over Eleanor Aldridge GBR and Jessie Kampman FRA, who are equal on points. Elena Lengwiler SUI was also among the best of the day, moving up to 10th place with 4/2/1/8. ----- The rankings and the daily report.

More moderate wind than on the opening day yesterday in Hyères, and again 4 races were completed. ----- Max Maeder SGP won again all 4 races in his group. Axel Mazella FRA (on his home waters) also managed this in his group, moving up to 2nd place. Bruno Lobo BRA is now 3rd. The Swiss were able to improve slightly: Bruce Kessler SUI is now 20th, and Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI follows in 26th place. ----- In the women's race, title defender Lauriane Nolot FRA is also still dominating. After three race wins, she crashed while leading and had to settle for 5th place. Jessie Kampman FRA and Eleanor Aldridge GBR follow behind. Elena Lengwiler SUI moved up to 14th place thanks to 4th/5th/4th, and the medal race is back in sight with two days of qualification remaining. ----- The ranking list and the daily report.

Rain and fresh winds up to 27 knots at the start of the Olympic Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères, and both fleets finished 4 races each. ----- Max Maeder SGP was again unbeatable yesterday and leads with 4 race wins. There were 3 race wins for the big-breeze specialist Bruno Lobo BRA,. Martin Dolenc CRO follows in 3rd place. Bruce Kessler SUI is the best Swiss rider in 20th place. Gian-Andrea Stragiotti SUI and Karl Maeder SUI follow in 28th and 32nd places of the 76 participants. ----- In the women's race, the favorite Lauriane Nolot FRA took the lead with 4 race wins ahead of Jessie Kampman FRA and Daniela Moroz USA. Elena Lengwiler SUI follows in 19th place of the 46 participants. ----- The rankings and the [URL=zc1.campaign-view.eu/ua/viewinbrowser? od=3zde86e2a08b026f6dabf6a782b99e1729&rd=11d86de08070afc3&sd=11d86de08070af1b&n=11699e4c04cb419&lkd=11d86de08070a820&mrd=11d86de08070af05&vm=y]daily report/URL].

The Olympic Kite Foiling World Championships begin today in Hyères, the last test before the Olympic Games. The big favorite in the men's event is Max Maeder SGP, while victory in the women's event is likely to go to the French. Among the first challengers is Elena Lengwiler SUI, who won the Olympic starting place for Switzerland at the same venue two weeks ago. ----- The event website with the entry list.

With a leap in performance after the winter training sessions in Central America, Elena Lengwiler SUI confidently secured an Olympic Nations starting place last week and is even among the medal candidates after finishing 4th at the European Championships a month earlier. Lengwiler, who plays National League A in ice hockey, only started kiting in 2019! The TV portrait.

Fresh easterly winds of up to 40 kn prevented the medal races of the Olympic dinghy classes yesterday. The classifications therefore remain as they were after the qualifications. ----- The victories go to Camille Lecointre/Jérémy Mion FRA (470), Diego Botin/Florian Trittel ESP (49er) Odile Van Aanholt/Annette Duetz NED (49erFX), Michael Beckett GBR (ILCA 7) and Charlotte Rose USA (ILCA 6). Sébastien Schneiter/Arno De Planta SUI were the only Swiss to qualify for a Medal Race, finishing the series in 9th place in the 49ers. The iQ windsurfers and Formula kiters completed their Medal Races already on Friday, the Nacras 17 were not at the start. ----- All rankings and the final report.

The Last Chance Regatta came to an end yesterday with the Medal Races, meaning that the last Olympic nation starting places have been allocated. Turkey won 4 of the 50 places, Switzerland, Germany and Austria each won two starting berths. El Salvador (ILCA 7) and India (ILCA 6) will also be in Marseille - the qualification overview and the report.

The already qualified nations finished their QUalifications for today's Medal Races yesterday. The Formula kiters and the iQ windsurfers already completed their series the day before yesterday, as we reported. In the 470 Camille Lecointre/Jérémy Mion FRA and 6 points behind them Anton Dahlberg/Lovisa Karlsson SWE will decide the winner today. Martin Wrigley/Bettine Harris GBR and Diego Botin/Nora Brugman ESP are tied on 3rd place. Yves Mermod/Maja Siegenthaler SUI finish the series in 15th place. 17 points ahead, Diego Botin/Florian Trittel ESP are unlikely to be caught in the 49er Medal Race today. Dominik Buksak/Szimon Wierzbicki POL follow in 2nd place. Sébastien Schneiter/Arno De Planta SUI in 9th place are in the Medal Race as well. In the 49erFX there is a duel between Odile Van Aanholt/Anette Duetz NED and Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler SWE, who are 3 points behind. In ILCA 6, Charlotte Rose USA has taken the lead, only Marit Bouwmeester NED, who is 3 points behind, can still displace her from the top spot. Anja Von Allmen SUI is 27th, Rosine Baudet SUI follows in 42nd place. In ILCA 7 there is a duel today between Michael Beckett GBR and Matthew Wearn AUS, who is one point behind. Philipp Buhl GER follows in 3rd place. All rankings and the report.

Yesterday, the first classes finalised the selections for the last Olympic starting places with the Medal Races. ----- Elena Lengwiler SUI also dominated the final in the women's Formula Kite and won by a clear margin. The other nations to qualify were POL, TUR, AUT and POR. ----- Connor Bainbridge GBR won the men's Formula Kite, with POL, USA, GRE and ISR taking the other starting places. Bruce Kessler SUI missed out on qualifying (5th place) by 18 points in 8th place. ----- The iQ-Foil windsurfers also sailed their medal races: In the women's event, there was a Czech double victory by the Svikova sisters. As some of the continental starting places were not claimed, the contingent of Olympic starting places increased, with Elena Sendera SUI on 22nd place qualified as well ! The other starting places go to SWE, AIN (Russia), TUR, SLO, AUT and EST. ----- Makoto Tomizawa JPN won the iQ-Foil men's medal race, ahead of Noah Lyons USA and Vyron Kokkalanis GRE. Other nations taking part in the Olympics are Lithuania, Hong Kong, Finland, and Slovakia. ----- The Medal Races are on the program for all other classes today. In 6th place, 22 points behind 4th place, Gauthier Verhulst SUI in the ILCA 7 just missed out on qualification. The two Nacra 17 teams also have no chance of securing a qualification place in the Medal Race. ----- All rankings and the report.

Auch gestern gab es in Hyères frische Winde bis 22kn. Als erste Klassen schlossen die iQ-Windsurfer und die Formula-Kiter die Semaine Olympic ab. Max Maeder SGP blieb im Formula-Kite auch in Hyères ungeschlagen, der Singapurer mit Schweizer Wurzeln geht als grosser Favorit auch in Marseille an den Start. Toni Vodisek SLO und Axel Mazella FRA belegen die Ehrenplätze. Im Formula Kite der Frauen gelang es Jessie Kampman FRA im Finale, Eleanor Aldridge GBR noch von der Spitze zu verdrängen, Lauriane Nolot FRA wurde 3. Eine Überraschung gabe es im iQ-Foil der Männer: Der als 8. für die Medal Races qualifizierte Ethan Westera ARU (Aruba) schaffte es bis ins Finale der besten 4, wo es im gelang, auch den die ganze Woche über dominierenden Grae Morris AUS zu bezwingen. Auf Rang 3 folgt Nacho Baltasar ESP. Elia Colombo SUI verpasste als 11. das Medal Race nur knapp. Im iQ-Foil der Frauen siegte Tamar Steinbeck ISR vor Mina Mobekk NOR und Palma Cargo CRO. Mit einem weiteren Laufsieg behaupteten sich Anton Dahlberg/Lovisa Karlsson SWE an der Spitze der 470er. Nur 2 Punkte dahinter lauern Camille Lecointre/Jérémy Mion FRA. Yves Mermod/Maja Siegenthaler SUI konnten sich mit den Tagesrängen 11 und 12 auf Rang 16 verbessern. Neu an der Spitze der 49er nun DIego Botin/Florian Trittel ESP. Sébastien Schneiter/Arno De Planta SUI sind als 9. auf Medal Race-Kurs. Trotz eines Frühstartes behauptete sich Marit Bouwmeester NED an der Spitze der ILCA 6. Dank 2 Laufsiegen rückte Emma Plaschaert BEL auf Rang 2 vor. Anja Von Allmen SUI ist 28., Maud Jayet SUI hat die Serie abgebrochen. Im ILCA 7 hat Olympia-Sieger Matthew Wearn die Führung übernommen, Michael Beckett GBR liegt aber nur 2 Punkte zurück. Philipp Buhl GER rückte auf Rang 3 vor. Alle Ranglisten und die Berichte.

Even before today's Medal Races, Elena Lengwiler SUI, the dominator of the Formula Kite women, has already been confirmed as an Olympic participant: the top two in the qualifications have qualified directly for the final of the Medal Race and are therefore guaranteed one of the 5 Olympic starting places. In addition to the Swiss rider, Julia Damasiewicz POL, 2nd in the qualification, will also be competing in Marseille, while Connor Bainbridge GBR and Maksymilian Zakowski POL are in the men's final. ----- The first winners are also emerging in other classes, which are sailing their final qualifications today: In the Mixed 470 (4 Olympic Nations starting places), the two Italian teams Giacomo Ferrari/Alessandra Dubbini ITA and Elena Berta/Bruno Festa ITA are well ahead. ----- In the Nacra 17 (4 Olympic places), Natacha Saouma/Mathias Bruun DEN are already 31 points ahead, and in the 49erFX (5 Olympic starting places), Aleksandra Melzacka/Sandra Jankowiak POL are 22 points ahead. ----- In the 49er (4 Olympic starting places), there is a three-way German lead with Jakob Meggendorfer/Andreas Spanger GER at the top. ----- In the ILCA 7 (4 Olympic places), Jeemin Ha KOR is leading, while Gauthier Verhulst SUI is 5th, tied on points with Sebastian Kampe BER in 4th place ... it remains exciting! ----- Noah Lyons USA has a 26-point lead in the iQ Foil Windsurfer, while Katerina Svikova CZE and Anastasya Valkevich AIN/RUS are well ahead in the women's event. ----- In the Nacra 17, Axel Grandjean/Noëmi Fehlmann SUI are in 8th place, 15 points behind the 4th national starting place. ----- All rankings and the report.