iQFOiL U23 World Championships at Portimão, Portugal - Day 1
by iQFOiL Communications 8 Sep 2025 19:16 BST
6-13 September 2025
The Algarve region, famous for its golden beaches, rugged coastline, and year-round sunshine, welcomes the future stars of windsurfing to Portimão for the 2025 iQFOiL U23 World Championships.
The race area, located just off the Santa Catarina fortress, offers reliable conditions with northwesterly thermal breezes and rolling Atlantic swells—an ideal stage for high-level competition.
From September 6 to 13, Portimão becomes the epicenter of youth windsurfing, hosting 143 competitors representing 30 nations. Over the course of six days of racing, these young athletes will showcase speed, tactics, and stamina in their quest for the World Champion title.
Today, Monday, September 8, marks the first day of racing. A steady northwesterly wind of 15 to 18 knots welcomes the fleet onto the water, providing perfect conditions for high-intensity battles.
The U23 World Championship represents an important step between the Youth series and the Senior category. It offers young sailors the opportunity to extend their development in a highly competitive environment, racing against athletes of their own generation at international level. This stage allows them to gain valuable experience and confidence before moving on to the senior fleet, where they will compete with the established elite of the discipline
The Race Committee selects the Course Racing format, a discipline designed to test traditional tactical sailing skills:
Purpose: Challenges athletes on strategy, speed, and consistency.
Format: Windward-leeward courses with upwind/downwind legs.
Duration: Around 12-20 minutes per race.
Features: Multiple races per day, emphasizing precision, decision-making, and endurance—mirroring the formats used across many elite sailing classes.
In the U23 Men category, Grae Morris (AUS) delivered a flawless performance in the U23 Men's category, securing victory in all four races of the day. The Australian Olympian, who claimed silver in the iQFOiL event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, proves he remains at the top of his form. This first racing day signals not just his current strength but also his readiness to take on the next Olympic cycle with both style and energy.
In second place is Federico Pilloni (ITA), the 2024 World Sailing Youth World Champion and more recently 18th at the Senior World Championship in Aarhus in July 2025. A promising talent from the Italian squad, Federico trains in Cagliari, Sardinia, and is already demonstrating the skills and consistency needed to compete at the highest level. Completing today's podium in third is Gur Lavi Prag (ISR) of Israel, another rising athlete who confirms the depth of talent in the U23 fleet.
"It was the first day of racing here in Portimao, it was a really nice day of racing especially for me, I had two bullets and two second places and some solid 15 knot course racing, so yeah it was really nice to sail out here, a lot of different types of tactical choices, a nice fleet, so I am happy and ready for the next days", said Federico Pilloni (ITA 286).
In the women's fleet, Mina Mobekk (NOR), the 2023 European Champion, makes a powerful return to the international stage. She ends the day on equal points with Emma Millend (EST), whose strong performance keeps the pressure high at the top of the leaderboard. Close behind, Maya Gysler (NOR), last year's U23 World Vice-Champion, claims third, setting up what promises to be a fierce battle for the podium in the coming days.
"Today we had four course races and the wind was quite strong and also I had some good and fun battles with my teammate Mina, which made the day even more fun, and I think it's going to be a good week so stay tuned", commented Maya Gysler (NOR 332).
As competition intensifies, Portimão promises a thrilling week of action, with the world's best U23 windsurfers delivering both speed and strategy against the stunning Algarve backdrop.