Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Slalom Day 4

by Chris Yates 26 Jul 10:07 BST

Justine Lemeteyer dominates final day of Women's racing to become Slalom X world champion for first time after superb four-timer | Matteo Iachino on verge of Slalom X world title

The 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam is proving to be a true war of attrition with no pause to catch your breath from the relentless howling winds, which is testing the mental and physical attributes of the world's best sailors to their absolute limits. Today marked possibly the most hardcore conditions of the event thus far as more 50 knot gusts were registered, while the rise in swell overnight caused further havoc on the racecourse. With a variety of courses being utilised today, including the infamous 'Downwind of Death', there were several huge wipeouts, and just making it to the end of the course was an achievement in itself.

It's hard to put into words just how difficult the conditions were, but when you have professionals who would probably make 100 gybes out of 100 in normal conditions fighting for dear life just to stay on their boards, it should give you some context about just how extreme the conditions were.

Slalom X

Women's

After the first day of racing Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) left herself a mountain to climb, but after a somewhat slow start, she steadily improved throughout the event. Heading into the final day just 0.3 of a point separated Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing), Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Lemeteyer, but by the end of Day 4 the 23-year-old put 9.1 points between herself and her closest challenger - van der Veen - as she raised her level at the perfect time.

Lemeteyer already has two Foil Slalom world titles to her name, but on both occasions has faltered under the final day pressure, which has led to some seriously anxious moments in Japan. However, today, Lemeteyer rose to the occasion, seemingly drawing upon her previous experiences to raise her level when it mattered most, which is a significant shift in her performance. Today, Lemeteyer won all four races, while winning seven of the last nine, to deservedly be crowned the 2026 Women's Slalom X PWA world champion, which is her third world title at the age of just 23.

Now Lemeteyer can celebrate her latest success, before starting to think about challenging for a third Foil Slalom world title a little later in the year. For someone who was close to giving up the sport, today vindicates her decision to continue as one of the brightest young talents in windsurfing.

Justine Lemeteyer celebrates - photo © John Carter

Justine Lemeteyer moments after becoming the 2026 Women's Slalom X World Champion: "I'm a bit lost for words. I really wasn't expecting it. When it came to the final day before I always found a way to mess things up, but today I did the exact opposite. This one is perhaps my proudest [world title] as I came from such a long way back. I'm just super happy."

Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) was by far the most consistent sailor over the last four days with the 26-year-old only finishing outside the top four on two occasions in the fifteen eliminations completed. Today van der Veen claimed three second places and a third to go one place better than last year as she finishes 2026 as the vice-world champion for the first time in her career.

For Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) this isn't the way she would've wanted to end the week after winning the opening three eliminations. However, in such brutal conditions, if you aren't fully fit, your body simply isn't going to enable you to perform at 100%, and when the margins are so fine, even if you are a few percent below your personal best, that will eventually tell. Gibson once again showed that she is the quickest woman in the world, but ultimately has to settle for third place this time round, but her time to become Slalom X world champion will surely come.

Women's Slalom X Top Three (l-r) Femke van der Veen, Justine Lemeteyer and Jenna Gibson - photo © John Carter

At just 16-years-old, Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde), is already on the cusp of challenging for overall podiums. The Bonairean finishes this week ranked fourth in the world just ahead of Mae Davico (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) on count \back, who also claims her best result to date on the Slalom X World Tour.

Men's

Almost Home and Dry

For the first time at this event, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / NeilPryde / Z Fins) blinked slightly as he recorded a seventh place finish in Elimination 9. However, the Italian remains in total control of the event and is on the cusp of becoming the Slalom X world champion for the first time. Iachino heads into the final day with a 6.9 point advantage, but also with the buffer that the worst result he can pick up in the first race tomorrow is a second place because his level of sailing has been so high.

Depending on the conditions, the plan is to try and complete two eliminations, but if Iachino secures a top six finish in the opening race, then he will be crowned world champion. The 36-year-old has produced arguably one of his best performances ever on the World Tour and it now just seems a matter of time before he is officially crowned world champion for the fourth time in his career.

Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing / North Sails) is the only sailor who can possibly deny Iachino at this point, and you can be sure the defending world champion will give it his all tomorrow to do just that. However, it's an outside chance, as he will be required to win both races tomorrow and hope that Iachino finishes outside the top six, in both races, to have any chance of denying his rival.

Doing Things The Hard Way

If you are a Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde) fan, this week will have been almost unwatchable as he continues to put you, and himself, through the wringer. After a horrific start, the Pole did brilliantly to recover yesterday, only to jump the gun in the quarterfinal of Elimination 8, to seemingly undo all of his hard work. Rutkowski once again found a way to fight back by winning Elimination 9, which sees him remain in third place, but his position is precarious as any other mistake would potentially have huge implications on his ranking.

The Fight For Third

Things remain incredibly tight once you remove Iachino and Mortefon from the rankings with just 6.6 points currently separating third to sixth place in the event rankings. That means besides Rutkowski, Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde), Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / North Sails / Z Fins), and Jimmy Thieme (FMX Racing / Point-7) all remain firmly in the battle to secure the final place on the prestigious overall podium.

The top ten is currently completed by Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7), Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails), Bruno Martini (WeOne / S2Maui / Z Fins) and Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing).

The final day of the 2026 PWA Grand Slam is set to be another windy one and the Men's fleet will meet for meet for their last skippers' meeting of the week at 11am with the action commencing from 12pm 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.

Result 2026 PWA World Tour - Women's Slalom X

Result 2026 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Women's Slalom X

Current Ranking 2026 PWA World Tour - Men's Slalom X
*After Nine Eliminations (2 Discards)

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / NeilPryde / Z Fins)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / North Sails)
3rd Maciek Rutkowski (POL | JP / NeilPryde)
4th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / North Sails / Z Fins)
6th Jimmy Thieme (FRA | FMX Racing / Point-7)
7th Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
7th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
7th Bruno Martini (ITA | WeOne / S2Maui / Z Fins)
10th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)