Written by FFvoile
Race Results
Competitor lists by class
No. of competitors: 705
No. of countries: 59
No. of races: 224
No. of volunteers: 200
Dates of the next SOF: April 17 – 24 2027
Italy’s sailors shone even brighter with two more golds on another perfect day in the Bay to finish the 57th Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères – TPM, the second event of the Sailing Grand Slam series.
Italy topped the unofficial medal table with three golds and two silvers overall. They shared the spoils with China last year, but this year have improved again. But France, Australia, China, and Argentina showed their strength through the fleets.
“It was Champagne sailing today,” Maria Giubilei, who along with Gianluigi Ugolini, overturned the overnight leaders from Argentina to win gold in the Nacra 17 in fine foiling conditions.
“We have three golds and a silver. It’s a beautiful week for Italy!”
Surely only in Hyères can this amount of Champagne and Olympic sailing have been consumed in a week. There was fine racing on all six days and you could not have designed better conditions for race courses nor more beautiful surroundings between the Giens peninsula and the Îles d’Or. The forecast westerlies arrived early and the Nacra 17, 49er and FX finals began at 10.30 in 15 knots and a gently rippling sea state.
There was a new format for the week – the two-race finals for the six fleets racing today, and the same drama, especially in the Nacra 17 which saw the overnight leaders unseated.
Italy’s double Olympic champions, Ruggero Tita & Caterina Banti, finished fourth after breaking their gennaker tack on Thursday was a cautionary tale. Gold is never guaranteed.
Ed Russo, SOF Event Director
“For the athletes, it was a great week. The weather was perfect, and they were able to race for all six days. We were able to complete 100% of the programme, even with the iQFOiLs, which struggle to race in winds below 9-10 knots. So, it was truly a fantastic edition. Two years before the Games, this 57th SOF is important because we are in a period of selection for the format of finals they will have for the Olympic Games. This decision was made last November by World Sailing, on the condition that the new format be tested at the SOF. It was a major test for the new format, which we used for all six boat classes today. The aim is to have a more open format, giving more opportunities to the 10 boats in the final to reach the podium. There is also incredible organisation here in Hyères: the French Sailing Federation (FFV), the city of Hyères, and all its services have contributed to making the event happen. There are 200 volunteers who give their all; without them, none of this would be possible!”
Véronique Bernardini, Mayor of Hyères
“The 57th French Olympic Sailing Week has come to a close after an intense week, blessed by exceptional – and sometimes challenging! – conditions on our stretch of water that is recognised as one of the most beautiful in the world,”
“In Hyères, we choose to fully embrace our identity: we are a city of the sea, of sport, and of community. This ambition will continue to guide all we do. Bon vent and the best of luck to everyone.”
Women’s FX
1st – Sofia Giunchiglia & Giulia Schio (ITA)
2nd – Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot (AUS) 
3rd – Manon Peyre & Amélie Riou (FRA)
Italy’s Sofia Giunchiglia & Giulia Schio continued on from their fantastic Friday with an outstanding Saturday, winning both finals to take gold. They struggled in the big chop waves in the middle of the week, but when the Bay of Hyères was flat they completely dominated. The Sicilian duo’s first win had guaranteed it. Their closest challengers, Australia’s Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot, could only finish seventh leaving the gap at an insurmountable 12 points. The Australians finished fourth in the second final to hold on to silver and hold off the great surge up the leaderboard by France’s Manon Peyre & Amélie Riou, whose two second places brought them bronze.
Sofia Giunchiglia & Giulia Schio (ITA)
“Today was really amazing, we felt confident in these conditions, our technique was good, we pushed it and were really fast, made good starts. There are no words to describe how happy we are, this is our first win in the World Cup. Winning is always a good feeling, but winning with two bullets in the medal races has an even different taste.”
Men’s 49er
1st – Zaiding Wen & Tian Liu (CHN)2nd – Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove (IRL)3rd – Erwan Fischer & Clément Péquin (FRA)
China’s Zaiding Wen & Tian Liu’s consistent Friday paid dividends on Saturday as they wrapped up the gold after the first Final, they were third behind Ireland’s Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove who finished second, but that gave the Chinese a 10-point cushion. Wen & Liu said the result was extra significant because this month was their qualification for the Asian Games, and they will now represent China after they finished ahead of their national rivals, who had taken bronze in Palma.
France’s Erwan Fischer & Clément Péquin could only manage sixth leaving them third overall but level on points with the Irish going into the second final. But the Dickson & Waddilove won their battle, finishing fifth to take silver, with the French taking bronze in seventh.
Zaiding Wen & Tian Liu (CHN)
“We had good conditions in Hyères, we had good starts, good speed. And yeah, we managed things very well. We’re happy about that! It really paid off.
We had all the conditions this week, strong, light, and we just kept the results stable. And finally, we got the best result!
We got the best results from the big winds and the huge waves (Wednesday and Thursday). We like challenging conditions. I think for the 49er, we always have very tight competitions, the fleet is a very high level. We’re so glad to compete with the top teams.”
Nacra 17 (mixed double-handed catamaran)1st – Gianluigi Ugolini & Maria Giubilei (ITA)2nd – Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco (ARG)3rd – Tim Mourniac & Aloïse Retornaz (FRA)
In two hard fought finals, Italy’s Gianluigi Ugolini & Maria Giubilei, did what they needed to do and finished ahead of the overnight leaders, Argentina’s Olympic silver medallists Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco in both races to take gold. The Italians had started the day just two points behind but managed third in the first race to jump past the Argentinians in sixth. Fourth place in the second race was enough with the Argentinians back in sixth. It was a second Sailing Grand Slam silver for the Argentinians after silver in Palma.
Behind them Tim Mourniac & Aloïse Retornaz held on to bronze by just a point from Italy’s double Olympic champions, Ruggero Tita & Caterina Banti. The Italians were playing catch-up after breaking their gennaker tack on Thursday and won the first race amid plenty of drama with the British boat capsizing. But the French managed second and although they were 10th and last, the Italians could only finish seventh. One more place and they would have taken bronze.
Gianluigi Ugolini & Maria Giubilei (ITA)
“It was beautiful, we had perfect conditions out there. We knew we had to beat the Argentinians and finish always in front of them. So that’s what we managed to do, so we’re very, very happy.
We know that we are fast in these conditions We need to do an easy start, and put the bow in front of them.
In the first race, we didn’t have a nice start, but we managed to be in front of them.
We had around 15-18 knots and when the course is short and a lot of boats are rounding the marks, it’s not that easy as it looks, but still, I think it was Champagne sailing today, beautiful for Nacra; flat water, very good wind, so it was very nice.
So far we have three golds and a silver. It’s a beautiful week for Italy! Italy worked well this winter!
We were chasing a lot this week, because in the last regatta we did we lost the win in the last race in the final. We wanted this and finally we got it!”
Sailing’s Grand Slam Calendar
– Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels, Spain (27 March – 4 April)
– Semaine Olympique Française – TPM – Hyères, France (18-25 April)
– Dutch Water Week à Almere (30 may – 7 june)
– Kieler Woche – Kiel, Germany (20-28 june)
– Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta – Long Beach, USA (13 july – 7 august)
