iQFOiL Youth & Junior European Championships - Day 3
by iQFOiL Communications 21 Oct 18:57 BST
18-25 October 2025
Day three of the iQFOiL Youth & Junior European Championships brought a full schedule of racing to the sparkling waters off Club Nautico Arzachena in Sardinia, with steady westerly winds offering a preview of the stronger Mistral breeze expected later in the week for the 306 young athletes coming from 28 nations.
Two course areas were in operation today: Alpha, positioned further offshore, hosted the U19 and U17 Women, while Bravo, closer in the bay, was the stage for the U17 Men, who resumed with the remaining three Sprint Slalom heats from Day One before completing four Course Races.
Conditions were ideal for foiling, with 10 to 15 knots of wind and gusts reaching 17 knots, allowing for fast, tactical racing across both slalom and course formats.
U19 Women
Italy's Medea Falcioni delivered a commanding performance in the U19 Women's fleet, winning three out of five races, adding a third-place finish, and dropping a UFD (over the line) as her discard. Close on her heels is Germany's Emma Johanna Schleicher, who posted a consistent day with four second-place finishes and a win. Poland's Julia Przybyl, winner of race three, rounds out the provisional podium.
"Today was actually the first day of racing for us", commented Medea Falcioni. "I liked having five course races and winning three was really good for me, I think I have really good speed downwind but I still have to improve in the starts and in the upwind, but I am very happy about the day and I hope I can get better every day".
U17 Women
France's Théa Le Borgne Zibetti asserted her dominance by winning all five races of the day The reigning Youth & Junior World Champion from Brest is proving once again that she's the sailor to beat. The battle for second remains tight between Naama Platnik (ISR) and Ruya Ugurlu (TUR), both sailing consistently and separated by only a handful of points.
U19 Men
Mattia Saoncella (ITA) doinated winning four of the five races in the Yellow Group, he is followed by Peleg Rajuan (ISR) who finished the day on a high with two wins in the Blue Group and is tide on point with Artun Senol (TUR).
"Today was absolutely fun with some nice wind with some gusts up to 18 knots", commented Mattia Saoncella. "I managed to win almost every race except the last one where I finished in second position and tomorrow the forecast it's promising and I hope that it will be even more exciting".
U17 Men
On the Bravo course, Merlijn Boswijk (NED) excelled in the yellow group, winning all four of today's Course Races to take the overall lead. Just behind him on equal points is Finn Brüll (NED), the top performer in the blue group. František Burda (CZE) currently sits in third overall after another solid day on the water.
With competitive fleets, rising wind conditions, and high-performance racing, Day Three marked a turning point in the championship, as title contenders began to emerge and rivalries intensified. With the qualification series now complete, the U17 and U19 Men's fleets will be split into Gold and Silver groups starting tomorrow, ushering in the final series where every point will count.
Racing continues tomorrow with similar conditions, before welcoming the Mistral on Thursday, which is set to shake things up with 20+ knots in the forecast, and even stronger breeze expected on Friday.