Reigning kiteboarding champion Derin Atakan rocketed to her first bullet of the Youth Sailing World Championships to break Maria Catalina Turienzo’s perfect winning streak as races across Lake Garda were postponed due to low winds.
Turienzo finished second but kept up an eight-point lead at the top, thanks to as many prior bullets, ahead of closest competitor Meijing Xiao of China who finished third.
Afternoon winds of 8-10 knots meant much of Wednesday’s racing took place later than expected – all postponed races will be contested later this week.
Italy’s Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio maintained top spot in the 420 as Great Britain’s Finian Morris and Charlie Gran closed in on 29er leaders Ewa Lewandowska and Krzysztof Królik.
Formula Kite
Atakan of Türkiye broke fellow Paris 2024 Olympian Maria Catalina Turienzo’s eight-race winning streak on the hunt for another youth world title ahead of the Games in Marseille.
Turienzo maintained her lead as Atakan remains in third on 17 points, 10 points behind the Argentinian.
France’s Nell De Jaham flew to his first win of the Championships ahead of Brazilian leader Lucas Pes Fonseca in the men’s race.
Jiayi Tian of China kept up with the fleet for third with three remaining races postponed.
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 15
Two out of three Nacra 15 races were postponed but Italy’s Lorenzo Sirena and Alice Dessy made no mistake with a bullet in their race to open a narrow lead on Come Vic-Molinero and Fatima Tia of France.
Brother and sister duo Hannelien and Sander Borghijs of Belgium sit in third on 16 points, six points behind the Italian leaders.
Dinghy – 420
Vucetti and Bonifacio remain on top after two fourth-placed finishes in the men’s/mixed two person dinghy.
They shrugged off any threat from France’s Colin Postel and Theo Henry, who raced 10,13 and extended their gap as leaders to 16 points.
The USA’s Freddie Parkin and Estella Morris recorded their first bullet of the Championships in the final race of the day and climbed up to eighth.
In the only women’s race of the day, Danai Giannoili and Iakovina Kerkezou kept up their leading efforts with a bullet as Italy and Spain’s crews both finished outside of the top 1
Morris and Gran finished hot on the heels of men’s/mixed 29er leaders Lewandowska and Królik after the Polish pair raced 3, 15, 8 on day three.
The British duo claimed a crucial bullet in the final race of the day and are now perched just six points behind the pacemakers on 33 points overall.
France’s Jocelyn Le Goff and Jules Vidor enjoyed an encouraging day of racing and claimed just 10 points to sit in third.
Hong Kong’s Emily Polson and Tiffany Mak bolted to a bullet in the only female skiff race of the day as consistent pair Alicja Dampc and Alicja Tutkowska of Poland took second.
Dinghy – ILCA 6
Hermionie Ghicas soared back up the standings with a statement opening bullet in the women’s dinghy as she bounced back from 8, 10 on Tuesday.
Despite coming 17th in the final race of the day, she climbed up to top spot after Italy’s Maria Vittoria Arseni and Ukraine’s Alina Shapovalova, in second and third overall, failed to make it inside the top 10.
Ireland’s Lucy Ives clinched her first bullet in the second race as Great Britain’s Amelie Hacker was another standout on day three.
Despite Antonio Pascali’s bullet in the final race of the day, he could not maintain his position as leader after the Italian’s 36th finish in the day’s opener.
Windsurfing – Youth iQFOiL
Great Britain’s Darcey Shaw grabbed a bullet in one of two women’s windsurfing races but still sits behind Italy’s Carola Colasanto in second as all men’s iQFOiL racing was postponed.
