Australian Sailing Team ready to race French Olympic Week
by Lisa Darmanin / Australian Sailing Team 20 Apr 06:40 BST
20-25 April 2026
Grae Morris - Semaine Olympique Française © Sailing Energy
The second Sailing Grand Slam of the 2026 season heads to Hyères, France, this week, with the French Olympic Week regatta set to welcome hundreds of sailors from more than 50 nations across all 10 Olympic classes. Australia will be strongly represented, with 43 entries preparing to take to the start line.
A fixture on the international calendar for more than half a century, French Olympic Week is one of the sport's most respected testing grounds. Set on the Bay of Hyères in the Mediterranean, the regatta is renowned for its range of conditions from the powerful Mistral and strong easterly winds to light seabreezes, with this week expected to deliver a bit of everything.
Fresh off his victory at the opening Sailing Grand Slam in Spain, double Olympic Champion Matt Wearn will be one to watch as he lines up against a 136-boat ILCA7 fleet.
"It's looking like we are expecting a classic Hyères with a bit of everything on the forecast," shared Wearn. "It will be a great test for those that can master every condition."
"As always in the ILCA the fleet is about as competitive as you can get. All the main protagonists are here and ready to fight as well as plenty of younger guys looking to show their worth, so it's going to be a tough week of racing."
The regatta marks another important step early in the LA 2028 cycle, building on momentum from the season opener in Palma and offering a fresh benchmark across the fleet.
Australian Sailing High Performance Director Iain Brambell said this regatta provides a valuable opportunity to measure progress in a high-quality international field.
"We've seen some strong early indicators across the team this season, particularly in terms of depth and consistency, and this week gives us another chance to assess that across a full range of conditions," he said.
"At this stage, it's about continuing to build and actively progressing the learnings from Palma. Pushing towards repeatable podium performances, exposing athletes to the intricacies of decision making under pressure, refining execution, and making sure we're progressively tracking in an upward direction as the cycle unfolds."
With world-class competition and a racecourse known to challenge sailors, French Olympic Week will provide another key test for the Australian Sailing Team on the road to LA 2028.
Racing gets under way on 20 April and runs through to the weekend. The board classes (iQFOiL and Formula Kite) will contest their Finals Series on 24 April, with the remaining boat classes to decide medals on 25 April.
Full list of entries can be found here.
Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (AS Squad), Australian Sailing Futures (ASF), State Sailing Performance Program (SSPP) and other Australian (AUS) entries at French Olympic Week:
ILCA 6 (83 entries)
Elyse Ainsworth (AST)
Mara Stransky (AST)
Zoe Thomson (AST)
Casey Imeneo (AS Squad)
Evie Saunders (AS Squad)
Ellen Sampson (ASF)
Lili McAullay (ASF)
Sylvie Stannage (AUS)
Frances Beebe (AUS)
ILCA 7 (136 entries)
Matt Wearn (AST)
Ethan McAullay (AST)
Zac Littlewood (AST)
Michael Compton (AS Squad)
Lawson McAullay (AS Squad)
Isaac Schotte (AS Squad)
Alexander Bijkerk (SSPP)
Hamish Gilsenan (SSSP)
Julian Taylor (SSSP)
Luke Elliot (AUS)
Patrick Scally (AUS)
iQFOiL - Men (66 entries)
Grae Morris (AST)
Rory Meehan (AS Squad)
Phillip Crispey (ASF)
Jarrod Jones (ASF)
Matthew Quinlan (SSPP)
iQFOiL - Women (41 entries)
Anna Crispey (ASF)
Sammie Costin (AUS)
Formula Kite - Men (40 entries)
Oscar Timm (SSPP)
Formula Kite - Women (23 entries)
Brieana Whitehead (AST)
Nacra 17 (30 entries)
Brin Liddell / Rhiannan Brown (AST)
Ruben Booth / Rita Booth (AS Squad)
Archie Gargett / Sarah Hoffman (AS Squad)
Jake Liddell / Niamh Meehan (AS Squad)
49er (48 entries)
Jack Ferguson / Jack Hilderbrand (AS Squad)
Otto Henry / Shaun Connor (AS Squad)
Harry Price / Max Paul (AS Squad)
Kurt Hansen / Charlie Zeeman (ASF)
Daniel Links / Keizo Tomishima (ASF)
49erFX (24 entries)
Laura Harding / Annie Wilmot (AS Squad)
Brooke Wilson (ASF) / Evie Haseldine (AS Squad)
470 (49 entries)
Sophie Jackson / Austin Cross (ASF)
Alice Buchanan / Angus Higgins (SSPP)