470 class at French Olympic Week Hyères 2026 - Day 4
by International 470 Class Association 23 Apr 16:11 BST
18-25 April 2026
On the fourth day of French Olympic Week, two races were held for the gold fleet and three for silver. It was another windy day on the water, which allowed the races to be completed quickly.
The conditions were fast and demanding, but also very exciting for the sailors.
Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona increased their lead. The Spanish team finished the races in 3rd and 1st place, and now they have a strong 10-point gap over the second crew. In second place are still the British team, Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris, who have held this position since the first day.
"We had a day quite similar to yesterday. Same sort of direction and quite windy. But a little bit lighter and a lot sunnier, which is nice. And we had two good races," said Martin Wrigley.
"Quite tricky wind, like it was quite shifty and quite patchy. But yeah, really good fun in the waves. Yeah, I mean, it's been two pretty big days of big wind, big waves," added Bettine Harris. "It's kind of been fun, hard work, and I feel pretty battered. But it's been good racing and good fun."
In third place, after a very strong day, are Matisse Pacaud and Lucie de Gennes. The French crew finished both races in second place today, which puts them in a very good position overall. They now have a two-point advantage over fellow French sailors Manon Pennaneac'h and Pierre Williot, and are also just two points behind the British team.
It is also worth highlighting the very good sailing of the Swiss team, Yves Marmod and Maja Siegenthaler. After a long break following the Olympics, they returned to racing in 2026. After competing at the Europeans in Portugal and Trofeo Sofia in Palma, they are now back on track and sailing consistently in the top ten throughout the French Olympic Week.
"That's our third proper race after our comeback. We start to feel better and better in the fleet. These last two days we had perfect conditions with around 20 knots and full planning," commented Marmod.
"It was super nice to be also sailing in the top of the fleet. We look forward to finishing the event strong and hope to sail in the medal race on Saturday," he added.
There were only small changes in points within the top ten. The gold fleet is closed by Afrodite Zegers - De Kleine and Filippos Koulouris. Meanwhile, the leaders of the silver fleet are the German team of Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort, who sailed below expectations. The Germans won the French Olympic Week last year.