After a week of racing in challenging offshore winds, Saturday’s medal showdowns for the 10 Olympic class titles at the 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels are set to benefit from perfect conditions. A moderate sea breeze is forecast to build early, accompanied by warm Spring sunshine, providing an ideal arena as the regatta showcases new formats expected to be used at the LA2028 Olympic regatta.
As the last chances to qualify for Saturday’s Finals Series were played out, Good Friday afternoon on the Bay of Palma offered the best racing conditions so far, a promising glimpse of what’s to come. While the Kite and iQFOiL medal decider formats remain largely unchanged, the top ten in each of the dinghy, skiff, and multihull classes advance to contest for the Palma titles. Notably, there will now be two consecutive medal races with points from the Elimination Series carried forward.
A new formula for deciding the winner of the historic Princesa Sofía Trophy has been adopted, producing winners such as 2023’s Formula Kite victors Max Maeder (SGP) and Briana Whitehead (AUS) in 2024. Last year’s Olympic bronze medallist Emma Wilson (GBR), who dominated the iQFOiL, also emerged victorious.
In the men’s Formula Kite, Max Maeder recently overtook Italy’s Ricardo Pianosi in the standings. The top two competitors moving directly to the four-rider medal series tomorrow suggest that the yellow bib is merely a source of bragging rights. Maeder commented on the subtle ranking changes, highlighting that the core of the competition remains intact.
Australia’s double Olympic ILCA 7 champion Matt Wearn is poised to halt Micky Becket’s run of Palma wins at four. Having returned to competition after some time out, Wearn has consistently led the fleet with a 13-point advantage over Beckett, which the new format reduces to nine, ensuring a tight battle remains ahead. Wearn expressed satisfaction with his performance, stating that his low expectations allowed him to enjoy the racing thoroughly.
In the ILCA 6 fleet, match racing ensued between Ireland’s Evie McMahon and GBR’s Daisy Collingridge during the last race of the day. Collingridge now leads, having acknowledged the unusual match racing but optimistic for their rivalry.
In the 49er fleet, American pair Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid lead after recovering from an early setback. Snow stated he prefers to focus on racing without overthinking the finals format.
Swedes Emile Järudd and Hanna Jonsson continue to lead the Nacra 17 class, overcoming illness to build an eight-point lead. Meanwhile, local favourites Paula Barcelo and Maria Cantero are confident about their standings in the Women’s Skiff, citing the tight nature of the competition.
The Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels is organised by Bahía Activa and supported by the Balearic sailing community and World Sailing. It forms part of the 2026 Sailing Grand Slam along with other major international regattas.
Text Credits: Trofeo Princesa Sofía
Photo Credits: Sailing Energy/Trofeo Princesa Sofía
Video Credits: ICARUS Sports / Trofeo Princesa Sofía
To keep up to date with the 55 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía, please visit the official website or follow on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
#TrofeoSofia @TrofeoPrincesaSofia #Sailing #Olympics2024 #SailingCommunity #PalmaSailing
Interested in seeing more Racing News? Click here
Want to see what we’ve written about Australian Sailing lately? Click here
