Forecast breeze arrived right on cue, three races went off in every fleet without delay, and the first real look at this year’s title contenders is starting to take shape
MEDEMBLIK, NETHERLANDS, July 22, 2026 Racing finally got going in Medemblik today, and the wind did not disappoint. All four fleets, the 49er, 49erFX, FX Open and Nacra 17, completed a full three races apiece right on schedule, with no delays despite a breeze that pushed toward the top end of the forecast. It made for a physical day on the water, with several capsizes along the way, but the racing itself ran clean and on time from start to finish.
The 49er fleet, split into yellow and blue groups, held up well in the strong conditions, and a couple of teams already look right at home out there. Germany’s Simon Heindl and Conrad Jacobs (GER 21) sit atop the fleet after finishing 1, 2, 2 across their three races, just ahead of Italy’s Lorenzo Pezzilli and Tobia Torroni (ITA 75) on 2, 3, 1. Both boats are worth watching for reasons beyond today’s scoreline. Their two digit sail numbers come from racing into the gold fleet at the Senior World Championship, so it is no real surprise to see them lead the way here too. Canada’s Thomas and William Staples (CAN 428) round out the top three. It was a tougher start for last year’s 49er world champions, Kjell Haschen and Iven Fromm (GER 182), who picked up a disqualification in race two after their bullet in race 1 and sit back in 16th place, with plenty of racing left to turn things around.
Over in the 49erFX fleet, sailed by all female crews, the top of the leaderboard already has a story to tell. Poland’s Klara Sobczak and Magdalena Skórnóg (POL 280) lead after a 3, 1, 8 day, with their compatriots Ewa Lewandowska and Anna Zwara (POL 771) right behind them in second. Lewandowska knows what it takes to win a world title, she was a 29er world champion before moving over to the FX, and she also races in the senior fleet these days. Manase Ichihashi and Rinko Goto of Japan (JPN 717) and sisters Boróka and Szonja Fehér of Hungary (HUN 747) are tied for fourth, both crews having recently started sailing in the senior ranks as well and familiar names on the circuit the past couple of seasons. It is a fleet with some senior level experience near the top already this early in the week.
The FX Open fleet is a different story. It is the class’s mixed division, open to any combination of sailors regardless of gender, and it has drawn in a good number of teams still new to the sport, some of whom have only been sailing together for a few days. For a lot of those crews, this week is really about finding out where they stand and how they handle themselves in real racing conditions rather than the result itself. Even so, some clear leaders have already emerged. Switzerland’s Henri Rothacher and Noah Strempfer (SUI 434) top the standings after a 1, 3, 1 day, with Samantha Gardner and Noah Nyenhuis of the United States (USA 49) second and Germany’s Hanno Rix and Maximilian Reuner (GER 171) third.
The Nacra 17 fleet produced one of the closer battles of the day. Switzerland’s Andrea Aschieri and Tine Rossel (SUI 370) and Italy’s Arto Hirsch and Sofia Borgia (ITA 76) are tied on points at the top after day one, and the Swiss result comes as a bit of a surprise given how new the team is together, Rossel only switched over from speed skating to Nacra sailing last year. Italian boats are stacked through the fleet, with three of them sitting in the top five. Federico Figlia di Granara and Caterina Sedmak (ITA 46), fresh off a strong top ten finish at the European Championship just two weeks ago, sit fourth and are already trading places with their Italian training partners further up the order. France’s Clement Martineau and Eloïse Clabon (FRA 44) had maybe the most consistent day of anyone in Medemblik, scoring 3, 3, 3 to sit third overall.
It is still just one day of racing, but a few title contenders are already starting to show themselves. Between the mix of sailors who already race at senior level and completely new teams finding their feet, days like this are a reminder of what this event is really about, giving the next generation of sailors, some of whom will be racing in the Olympics one day, a real stage to test themselves against the best of their age group.
Racing resumes tomorrow, 23 July, with the order flipped from today. The 49er fleet goes out first, with the yellow and blue groups both racing from 11:00, followed by Nacra 17 and the 49erFX and FX Open fleets from early afternoon. Full schedules, updated daily, are posted here: https://49er.org/events/2026-junior-world-championship/#schedule
