iQFOiL World Championship 2025 - Day 5: Calm before the storm

Despite hope and patience from the sailors and Race Committee, the wind never reached racing strength. At the end of the afternoon, Principal Race Officer Ewa Jodlowska hoisted AP over A, officially ending the day, and for many, the regatta.

In fact, the curtain has now closed on the event for all but the top 8 in each fleet. Tomorrow, it’s time for the Medal Series, the final showdown of the championship and a true test of consistency and resilience.

This year, the Class has been trialing new Medal Series formats with the goal of adopting one that’s both fair and exciting. The current format, used in Aarhus, brings in a progressive elimination system:

• The bottom four from the top 8 begin with the Quarter Finals.
• The top two from that round advance to the Semifinals, where they face the 4th and 3rd ranked athletes from the Opening Series.
• The best two from the Semis will meet the top two overall in the Grand Final.
• The first to two wins in the Grand Final will claim the World Title.

To reward consistency, the top qualifier will start the Grand Final already with one win, while the runner-up will carry 0.5 win, and their first race win will take them to one full win.

Women’s Top 8 after Opening Series:

1. GBR 7 – Emma Wilson – 28 pts

2. ISR 216 – Tamar Steinberg – 33 pts

3. GER 799 – Theresa Steinlein – 36 pts

4. ISR 390 – Sharon Kantor – 53 pts

5. ISR 3 – Shahar Tibi – 55 pts

6. NOR 21 – Maya Gysler – 56 pts

7. ISR 2 – Daniela Peleg – 64 pts

8. CRO 9 – Palma Čargo – 65 pts

Men’s Top 8 after Opening Series:

1. GBR 360 – Andy Brown – 44 pts

2. ITA 150 – Nicolò Renna – 45 pts

3. FRA 465 – Nicolas Goyard – 45 pts

4. NED 9 – Kiran Badloe – 48 pts

5. BRA 7 – Mateus Isaac – 51 pts

6. NED 55 – Luuc van Opzeeland – 51.3 pts

7. FRA 152 – Tom Arnoux – 54 pts

8. ISR 30 – Tomer Vardimon – 60 pts

“This is the second-to-last day of our 2025 World Championship, our first Worlds of the new Olympic quadrennium on the road to LA 2028, and we’re very happy with what we’ve achieved so far. Tomorrow, for the Medal Series, we have a good forecast, so it’s going to be very exciting to watch.

We’re seeing numbers very similar to last year’s Worlds in Lanzarote, which is a great sign that the Class remains healthy. We had 118 men in Lanzarote, and 117 here in Aarhus. What’s even more exciting is the presence of many new and younger faces.

This is our first Worlds since the sail change, and it already looks like the range of competitive weights has widened. We’re seeing lighter and younger athletes doing extremely well. Overall, athletes’ weights have shifted down, which is exactly what we hoped for, a Class easier to access from Youth and opening it to more countries, keeping the Class more universal, so it seems we’re moving in a very good direction toward LA”, said Gonzalo Costa Hoevel, iQFOiL International Class Manager.

Tomorrow’s races will be live-streamed on the Class YouTube and Facebook channels, as well as via World Sailing, with live updates on Instagram. Stay tuned for the climax of an intense week of racing in Aarhus!