Schultheis and Bertin nearing first Junior 49er win, Germans and Italians in FX Dual

After Day 1 of the Final Series, Schuletheis and Bertin extend to large lead 49er.

Germans Katharina Schwachhofer and Elena Stoltze lead but matched by Giunchiglia and Schio in FX

Belgian Borghijs brothers are deuces wild with all twos to grab lead in Nacra 17.

With only one day to go, Richard Schultheis and Youenn Bertin (MLt) are the clear leaders to win the gold medal in Vilagarcía, with a 23 point lead. It was not an easy day for the young Maltese, as they started the day off the pace and were almost last in the first race of the day at the half way point. They had a great leeward mark rounding and continued moving up the fleet to salvage a 13th place. At that point in the day, their overall lead over Menzies and Rush (NZL) had shrunk to a single point, but two good races by the Maltese and two average races by the Kiwis stretched the lead to a large on with three races remaining.

Germany closes the provisional podium, with Simon Heindl and Conrad Jacobs, with 76 points, who slip into the bronze at the expense of Wiebrand de Vos and Stijn Gast (NED), who are now fifth.

Katharina Schwachhofer and Elena Stoltze (GER) continue in a great dual in te FX with Sofia Giunchiglia and Giula Schio (ITA). The two teams finished within a couple boats of each other in all three races of the day, with the Germans taking two of the three encounters. It seems likely these two teams will continue to face off against each other on the final day, and any single mistake could cost the championship. The Italians have a much bigger drop than the Germans, which could create a fireworks moment in the final race should a match race break out.

Eleanor Keers and Jessica Jobson (GBR) made big gains a second place followed by two bullets and surged into the bronze medal position. “We’ve mostly been training alone all year, so while we feel comfortable in the boat sometimes our timing or tuning feel a bit off,” commented Jobson. “We do find our moment, however, and we seem to be able to do really well at our best.”

Nacras did four races today in their usual format. Belgian siblings Kwinten and Lieselotte Borghijs managed to climb up to the gold position, having been on every step of the podium these days. They are in the lead with 32 points. French Clément Martineau and Adélie Bertin are second with 40 points. And their compatriots Titouan Petard and Thea Lubac are just two points behind.

The weather conditions were much wetter, with the typical Galician drizzle lasting all day. The light rain came with plenty of breezes, so there was no problem starting on time on the fourth day of the 2024 Junior World Championship in Vilagarcía de Arousa.

‘The organisation is doing very well. In fact, the first impressions we have received from the participants are very good. The wind conditions are very good, the race programme is being fulfilled and I am even very sad that this championship is coming to an end because it is a great experience and an opportunity to make this Galician Sailing Centre known,’ said Bruno Gago, technical director of the Royal Galician Sailing Federation and director of this World Championship.

The first fleet to race were 49er, with the 25 boat Gold fleet on Alpha course, located in front of the Port of Vilagarcía, while the Silver fleet raced on the Bravo course, located close to the town of Rianxo.