Dun Laoghaire, Ireland | 29 August 2025
Australian sailors on the podiums after breezy final day at the ILCA Under-21 World champions on Dublin Bay.
Weather co-operated once again on Dublin Bay to deliver a thrilling conclusion to the 2025 ILCA Under-21 World Championships today, where three new world titles were decided at the end of a full 12-race programme.
After dominating all week, Roos Wind from the Netherlands won the ILCA 6 Under-21 Women’s title, while Ole Schweckendiek from Germany held his overnight lead to claim the Men’s ILCA 7 championship. Tenth-placed Omer Vered Vilenchik from Israel secured the ILCA 7 Youth Men’s title.
Friday’s final day featured fresh offshore winds gusting over 20 knots at times. The flood tide created steep waves, but it flowed consistently throughout racing. In the ILCA 6 Under-21 Women’s event, Roos Wind started the day with a comfortable points margin over second-placed Emma Mattivi from Italy. However, Wind was vulnerable to a match race attack as her discard had already been used from a heavy score on Thursday — and Mattivi duly obliged.
As they broke away into their own battle, the Italian led at the gybe mark, but Wind managed to shake her off in a brief gybing duel and refocus on chasing the leaders. Eventually, she crossed the finishing line in 12th place, while Mattivi discarded her 19th, leaving the Dutch sailor overjoyed with the result.
“Unbelievable! I’m world champion and I’m so, so happy and really relieved,” said Wind shortly after finishing. “It was really difficult. I tried to sail my own race but Emma wanted to do a match race so it was really tough but I managed to get away and sail quick and fast. In the end, it was enough for the win and I’m really happy.”
Mattivi secured Silver, while the battle for third place saw Frances Beebe from Australia dominate the final day with two first-place finishes, adding to her two second places from Thursday. She edged out Ginevra Caracciolo Di Brienza from Italy by a single point to claim Bronze. Of the host nation sailors, Sienna Wright from Ireland finished 15th overall in the 73-boat Women’s fleet.
Meanwhile, Ole Schweckendiek managed his overnight advantage to sail conservatively on the final day, securing the ILCA 7 Under-21 Men’s world title with a ten-point margin. “It was great… so fast upwind and great racing – I’m happy to win but it was really tight,” said a relieved Schweckendiek. “Overall, it was a good series and a good ending.”
Although he discarded a 19th place in race eleven, his main rival Edward Reid from Australia was black-flagged, removing the pressure. Reid’s teammate and close friend Isaac Schotte stepped up with a race win, but an eighth in the final race wasn’t enough to unseat the German. Reid did bounce back with a win in the last race, but it wasn’t enough to hold the podium as Athanasios Kyfidis from Greece edged him out by two points in a very tight men’s event that drew 139 boats. The best of the Irish was Fiachra McDonnell, who finished 11th overall, signing off with a fifth in the final race, adding to his earlier race win in the qualification series.
Tenth-placed Omer Vered Vilenchik from Israel secured the ILCA 7 Youth Men’s world championship title, his series including several strong single-digit results that hinted at podium potential or at least a top-six finish.
Attention now turns to the 2025 ILCA Under-21 European Championships in Split, Croatia (18–25 October 2025), while the 2026 World Championship will be staged in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain from 17–24 January 2026.
Final Results
Women’s Under-21 – Top 10
- Roos Wind NED – 43 pt
- Emma Mattivi ITA – 71 pt
- Frances Beebe AUS – 90 pt
- Ginevra Caracciolo Di Brienza ITA – 91 pt
- Evie Saunders AUS – 101 pt
- Maria Victoria Arseni ITA – 106 pt
- Isabella Mendoza Cabezas USA – 132 pt
- Romi Safin EST – 176 pt
- Marga Perello ESP – 178 pt
- Hermione Ghicas GRE – 179 pt
Men’s Under-21 – Top 10
- Ole Schweckendiek GER – 52 pt
- Isaac Schotte AUS – 62 pt
- Athanasios Kyfidis GRE – 89 pt
- Edward Reid AUS – 91 pt
- George Pilkington NZL – 94 pt
- Reem Pulci Magen ISR – 107 pt
- Mark Hestbaek DEN – 116 pt
- Erik Norlen SWE – 132 pt
- Filip Olszewski POL – 142 pt
- Omer Vered Vilenchik ISR – 145 pt
Men’s Under-19 – Top 10
- Omer Vered Vilenchik ISR – 145 pt
- Karol Krupski Teterycz ESP – 179 pt
- Adamantios Petrianos GRE – 193 pt
- Daniel Gimenez Mesquida ESP – 230 pt
- Jan Rohde POL – 243 pt
- Bartol Jocic CRO – 246 pt
- Leonardo Locci ITA – 259 pt
- Reilly Nakatsu CAN – 271 pt
- Franz Lasch GER – 314 pt
- Narimitsu Toyozumi JPN – 332 pt
The 2025 ILCA Under-21 World Championship is organised by the Royal St George Yacht Club, the National Yacht Club, and ILCA, with support from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Sport Ireland, XOcean, and Rooster Sailing.
#ILCA2025 #SailingNews #AustralianSailing #YouthSailing
Interested in seeing more Racing News? Click here
Want to see what we’ve written about Australian Sailing lately? Click here
