420 & 470 Junior European Championships
Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio claim a second junior title of the season
The 2026 420 & 470 Junior European Championships came to an exciting conclusion on Monday in Nida, Lithuania. After two challenging medal races sailed in heavy rain and 10–12 knots, Italy’s Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio secured the 470 Junior European title, just one week after being crowned Junior World Champions.
Vucetti and Bonifacio dominated the championship throughout the week, leading the overall standings from the opening races. Thanks to consistent performances, excellent boat speed and confident tactical decisions, they entered the medal series with a comfortable 10-point advantage over their closest rivals.
“It feels very, very good. It was a tough week because I had some back pain, but we managed to keep the lead every day and even increase it. In the end we sailed two good medal races, finishing second in both, so we’re really happy with our performance this week and throughout the entire season,” said Vucetti.
“If someone had told me a month ago that this would happen, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. It feels amazing. We have great communication on board, good speed, we feel confident with the boat and the sails, and we simply trust what the boat is telling us,” added Bonifacio.
The medal race day began in heavy rain, making conditions particularly demanding. The first race featured an individual recall after several boats crossed the starting line early. The Croatian and German crews returned to restart correctly, while the British team failed to do so and received an OCS penalty.
The opening medal race was won by France’s Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel, keeping their hopes of a podium finish alive. The Ukrainian team of Sviatoslav Madonich and Yelyzaveta Vasylenko also delivered an excellent performance, finishing third and strengthening their position before the final race.
“It was a bit stressful, but we prepared ourselves well before today. We had difficult conditions with heavy rain and strong wind, but we sailed an amazing first race. The second race was super tough, we rounded the first mark well behind, but we managed to recover and secure second place overall,” said Madonich.
“It’s an amazing feeling. More than anything, I feel relieved that we did it. I’m incredibly happy and it’s hard to describe my emotions. This is only our second championship together, so we’re really proud of what we’ve achieved,” added Vasylenko.
“It’s especially important for our country at this moment. We’re proud to represent Ukraine and to raise our flag on the podium,” Madonich said.
The second medal race belonged to Germany. After finishing only seventh in the opening medal race, Amelie Wehrle and Riccardo Honold bounced back with a race victory, which secured them the overall bronze medal, just two points ahead of the French crew. Despite finishing seventh in the final race, Madonich and Vasylenko comfortably held on to second place overall.
“We started the first medal race with an early start and had to return to the line, which was very frustrating. We tried to recover but could only finish seventh. Winning the second medal race was a great way to finish the championship, although it was a very hard fight. We’re really happy to come away with third place overall,” said Honold.
“Ricky was in charge of the upwind tactics, which allowed me to focus on steering and boat handling. Everything worked really well and we’re very happy with the result,” added Wehrle.
Double podium success
Both the new European champions, Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio, and the Ukrainian crew of Sviatoslav Madonich and Yelyzaveta Vasylenko won medals in both the overall classification and the Under-21 category.
The Under-21 podium was completed by the French team of Swan Berier Joyet and Aïnoa Phillipe Sasiain, who finished 11th overall. In the U19 category, the winners were Amelina Jäger and Caspar Fischer (Germany). Second place went to Simon Prot and Juliette Peyre (France), while third place was claimed by Maya Rotter and Jasper Hoschka (Germany).
2026 420 & 470 Junior European Championship RESULTS.
Next stop in the 470 Class Calendar? The most important event of the year – World Championships in Japan.