2025 iQFOiL World Championships in Aarhus - Day 3
by iQFOiL Communications 8 Jul 20:02 BST
4-11 July 2025
After a frustrating day of waiting ashore on Monday, Day 3 brought back the action in Aarhus Bay with spectacular foiling conditions and a full day of intense racing.
A light morning breeze gradually built throughout the day, ranging from 8 to 14 knots, offering more consistent - though still shifty - winds compared to Day 1. Both the Men's and Women's fleets took to the water to make the most of the improved conditions.
Racing started with the new Upwind Sprint format, a seven minute short, fast paced race with an upwind start, a reach and a final downing leg. The Women completed five Sprint races, while the Men wrapped up three and then switched to a classic Course Race format. To close the day, the Men's Blue group resailed the third Course Race that had been abandoned on Day 1, while the Yellow group returned ashore.
In the Men's fleet, Frenchman Tom Arnoux (FRA 152) continues his standout performance, holding the provisional overall lead with 15 points. 2020 Olympic Champion Kiran Badloe (NED 9) remains in close pursuit in second place, followed by French rider and 2021 World Champion Nicolas Goyard (FRA 465) in third. Reigning World Champion Nicolò Renna (ITA 150) sits in fourth, just ahead of 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Luuc van Opzeeland (NED 55), with a razor-thin margin of just 0.3 points. Paris 2024 silver medalist follows in sixth, while Rytis Jasiunas (LTU 7) and Andy Brown (GBR 360) round out the top eight, tied on points.
"We did Sprint racing before moving to one windward-leeward for all and finished with the resail of the Blue fleet Course abandoned on Day 1. So it was a big day of racing, five races, it was tiring, shifty, but very good racing. I had some ups and downs and I'm hoping everyone else had some ups and downs too, because I wasn't that consistent today. I'm so looking forward to tomorrow," commented Andy Brown (GBR 360) after racing.
In the Women's fleet, it was a standout day for reigning World Champion and Paris 2024 Silver Medalist Sharon Kantor (ISR 390), who delivered a flawless performance by winning all five races. She now leads the standings with an impressive 13-point margin. Theresa Steinlein (GER 799) had a very solid day, climbing into second overall with a string of consistent results. Fellow Israeli sailor Tamar Steinberg (ISR 216) holds third, maintaining her form from the opening day. Bronze medalist from Paris 2024 and 2024 World Championship runner-up Emma Wilson (GBR 7) also had a strong showing, scoring three wins, a third, and discarding a UFD (penalty for an over early start), which moves her up to fourth overall. Veerle ten Have (NZL 1) sits fifth, just ahead of Shahar Tibi (ISR 3), who had a tougher day but remains in the hunt. Maya Dziarnowska (POL 7) and Olympic Champion Marta Maggetti (ITA 157) round out the top eight.
"I'm pretty happy with my day, I got two bullets and really enjoyed the new racing format. It's super thrilling because everything happens so fast. You have to make quick decisions and there's no time to hesitate. I'm really pleased with how it went and looking forward to tomorrow," said Theresa Steinlein after racing.
More information, including full results, at 2025iqworldsaarhus.sailti.com/en/default/races/race
Tomorrow more of the same is on the horizon, with wind picking up in the afternoon and the first race start scheduled for 2pm. Both fleets will be divided into Gold fleet (top half of the ranking) and Silver fleet (bottom half).
From tomorrow (July 9) to the Medal Series on Friday (July 11) you can watch the racing live on the Class YouTube and Facebook.
The streaming tomorrow will start at 1400