The Gold Fleet cut has been decided after another thrilling day of racing at the 470 Junior World Championships in Gdynia. Two races were completed on Tuesday in excellent conditions, with sunshine and a steady 10–12-knot breeze providing a perfect stage for the championship.
Sienna Brown from Australia expressed her satisfaction with the weather, stating, “We’re pretty happy that the sun came out. Yesterday was a bit gloomy, a bit windier, so it was nice to kind of settle down a bit, get into a more pumping rhythm, especially today. That was a big part of the starts especially.“
Brown’s crew Ellis Merrett, noted the pleasant surprise of the conditions compared to previous warm-up days, saying, “I wasn’t expecting it to be this nice, so it was a good change compared to some of the warm-up days we had, which were a little cold and gloomy. It’s been a really good opportunity for us to compare ourselves to the European fleet.”
France’s Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel successfully maintained their overall lead, sitting atop the standings after four races, closely followed by Norway’s Julia Jacobsen and Victor Loof, who are just two points behind.
Italy’s Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio made a significant leap to third overall after winning both races, also taking the lead in the U21 classification. Vucetti remarked on the conditions, highlighting the importance of getting into the right position at the start.
The competition remains tight at the top, with the Norwegian, Italian, and Israeli teams all tied on eight points, and Germany’s Amelie Wehrle and Riccardo Honold just behind, keeping the fight for medals very much alive.
Following the completion of the qualifying series, the fleet will now split into Gold and Silver Fleets. The top 28 teams will compete in the Gold Fleet over the next two days, culminating in the determination of the 2026 470 Junior World Champions on Friday with two Medal Series Races.
In the U21 standings, Ukraine’s Sviatoslav Madonich and Yelyzaveta Vasylenko are currently in second place, while Israel’s Tehila Sidis and Amitai Levkovitz hold third position.
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