Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Slalom Day 1

by Chris Yates 23 Jul 13:45 BST

Jenna Gibson makes a flying start © John Carter

Jenna Gibson and Matteo Iachino boast perfect records after a brutal first day of racing in Sotavento

The opening day of Slalom X at the 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam provided a stern test of mettle for the world's best racers as howling winds and a combination of swell and short period chop created havoc out on the racecourse. For anyone hoping for a gentle introduction to life in Sotavento, their prayers weren't answered, as Fuerteventura provided a baptism of fire, which claimed more than its fair share of victims - particularly on the two outside gybe marks, which tested the skills of even the best gybers in the business to the max. At times, survival was the name of the game, while bravery was rewarded in those rare moments that a slightly calmer piece of water presented itself. At the close of play on Day 1 of Slalom X, Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) and Matteo Iachino (Starboard / NeilPryde / Z Fins) head up the event rankings with both sailors boasting perfect records at this stage.

Slalom X

Women's

Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) made an emphatic start to proceedings as the Brit, who just missed out on the podium here last year, quickly reeled off a clinical hat-trick to take control of the event. Gibson, who is the Women's Speed World Record holder, sailed tactically astute heats as she took the starts easy knowing full well she has the pace to power to the front of the pack, while she eased off the throttle through the corners before powering away from the rest of the fleet again. Gibson looked in danger of obliterating the field as she also led Elimination 4, but the 28-year-old fell at the second buoy, before finishing sixth to finish the day with a small blemish on her score card. Gibson now needs to just put that to the back of her mind as it looks like the event is hers for the taking and she currently sits on a perfect score of 2.1 points after the opening four races.

Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) is currently Gibson's closest challenger, but the reigning Foil Slalom world champion trails by 6.7 points at the close of play after a very topsy turvy day. The top seed looked a little out of sorts early on as she recorded a third, a fifth and a seventh, before fighting back into contention by claiming her first bullet of the event in the last elimination of the day and she'll now try and use that to gather a bit of momentum.

Meanwhile, Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Mae Davico (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) currently share equal third place on 9 points apiece - just 0.3 of a point behind Lemeteyer. Van der Veen sailed consistently throughout a tough opening day as she recorded a second, a third and two fourths, while Davico, who pinged the start in each race, also claimed a second, third and a fourth, before finishing twelfth in Elimination 4.

Elsewhere, Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) is just a point further back after signing off with her best result to date in Slalom X elimination after finishing in an excellent second place in Elimination 4, while Marion Mortefon (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) currently occupies sixth on twelve points. Mortefon finished second in Elimination 2 to show she will still be a major threat when everything clicks into place.

Men's

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / NeilPryde / Z Fins) sent out an ominous warning sign to his rivals as the Italian reeled off back-to-back bullets on the fin for first time since New Caledonia in 2019 - when he completed a hat-trick. The Italian looks exceptionally quick with a new engine in his hands and as one of the most consistent sailors on the World Tour he could be exceptionally dangerous over the next four days as he aims to win a fourth world title.

Matteo Iachino leads the Men's after back-to-back bullets - photo © John Carter

Iachino was patient in the opening elimination as it looked as though Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) was going to claim the first bullet of the week, but the treacherous last mark, combined with the German being a little under the weather, saw him leave the door open and Iachino didn't need a second invite to swoop in and nick the first bullet. In the second elimination, Iachino stepped on the gas to power past Cedric Bordes (Severne Windsurfing) before powering away from the rest of the fleet to earn a convincing victory. The 36-year-old sits on a perfect 1.4 points after the opening couple of races and after today's performance you wouldn't bet against him completing a hat-trick tomorrow as he looks like he has the out and out pace to challenge anyone, while his wealth of experience makes him a major threat for the world title.

Reigning world champion Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing / North Sails) will probably be quite pleased with his days work in the end after producing a superb last gybe in Elimination 2 to jump from fourth to second, which could yet prove crucial come the end of the week. The Frenchman would have course rather have been fighting for the bullets in both races, but two second places give him a solid foundation on which to build upon, but he won't want to give Iachino any more breathing room - currently just 2.6 points off the pace.

After the opening couple of eliminations, Bonaire's Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) completes the current top three after a very consistent day which saw him claim a third and a fourth place, while Prien and Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) are a few points further back. If the German can get himself back to 100% full fitness then he too looks as though he has the straight-line speed to challenge for top honours. However in these brutal conditions, Prien needs to be fully fit to be able to cope with the physical demands of Fuerteventura.

The French duo of Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Cedric Bordes come next in sixth and seventh place respectively. Merceur qualified for both Winners' Finals - but was disqualified from the first final for a false start, before producing a superb last gybe in the semifinal of Elimination 2 to qualify for the top eight again. Meanwhile, Bordes missed out on the opening Winners' Final before briefly leading Elimination 2 as he showed off an impressive top speed before eventually finishing fourth.

The top ten is currently completed by Bruno Martini (WeOne / S2Maui / Z Fins) - 8th - after the Italian finished eighth in both eliminations, Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) - 9th - and Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / North Sails / Z Fins) - 10th. Having just won the Foiling and Fin divisions at the IFCA event last week, the Bonairean would've been expecting to be battling it out in Winners' Finals rather than the B-Finals, but with plenty of racing to come there's still plenty of time for him to climb the leaderboard.

The same story is true of Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde), who would've started the event with the aim of at least fighting for the podium here. However, the Pole now faces an uphill battle to make that happen. Rutkowski was involved with a racing incident with Vrieswijk at the second mark in the semifinals of Elimination 1 - when both sailors were in the qualifying positions - to miss out on the opening Winners' Final, but he still won the B-Final for damage limitation. However, in the second semifinal he looked on course to qualify for the Winners' Final before he got pipped to the post at the last buoy. And then to make matters worse, the 34-year-old went from first to last in the B-Final at the final gybe again as a combination of severe pressure from Vrieswijk and some death chop caused him to not only crash, but miss the mark entirely. Rutkowski needs to reset quickly to get his event back on track, but realistically now can't afford anymore mistakes.

Elsewhere, the youthful talents of 21-year-old Brendan Lorho (S2Maui) and 20-year-old Sacha Fortune (Duotone Windsurfing) both made bright starts and sit in eleventh and thirteenth place, respectably, while the top sixteen is completed by Tristan Algret (AV Boards / S2Maui) - 14th - Alexis Mathis (Tabou / GA Sails) - 15th - and Pierre Macquaert (JP / NeilPryde) and Titouan Gernolle (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails), who share 16th.

The forecast for Thursday looks just as strong on paper as today, so there should be more extreme racing on the way. The skippers' meeting has been called for 10:30am (GMT+1) tomorrow morning with the racing commencing from 11:30am onwards.

Waterspeed - Global Windsurfer Quest

From June until December, every kilometre you log on the Waterspeed app adds to your position on one global leaderboard — the Global Windsurfer Quest has been developed between Waterspeed and the PWA to bring the entire windsurfing community together. Sign up via the app now here and record one session before the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam for your chance to win a signed lycra from the winners.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Current Ranking 2026 PWA World Tour - Women's Slalom X
*After Four Eliminations (1 Discard)

Current Ranking 2026 PWA World Tour - Men's Slalom X
*After Two Eliminations

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / NeilPryde / Z Fins)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / North Sails)
3rd Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
6th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
7th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Severne Windsurfing)
8th Bruno Martini (ITA | WeOne / S2Maui / Z Fins)
9th Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
10th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / North Sails / Z Fins)