May 11, 2026
2 minutes reading time
The world’s best Skiff and Foiling sailors converge on Quiberon
The 2026 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 World Championship gets underway tomorrow in Saint-Pierre-Quiberon, on the rugged Atlantic coast of Brittany, and the setting alone promises drama. Quiberon was selected for this championship as it blends raw Oceanic winds but the racing is hidden from the worst of the swell behind the extended peninsula.
It is exactly the environment where world titles are decided — and where the road to the LA 2028 Olympic Games takes its sharpest turn yet.
Close to 350 sailors representing more than 30 nations across six continents will compete across the three fleets, with the entry list covering countries from Australia and New Zealand to Argentina, Uruguay, India, Oman, Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and across much of Europe and North America. The event has attracted a remarkable concentration of talent barely two years from the next Games.
49er: An Open Race in the New Cycle
The 49er fleet is arguably the most wide-open it has been in years. Diego Botín and Florian Trittel — who dominated the class throughout the Paris Olympic cycle, winning the 2025 World Championship in Cagliari — are not in the entry list for Quiberon, as they take the year off to concentrate on their SailGP and America’s Cup commitments.
49erFX: The Reigning Champions Face a Stiff New Challenge
The 49erFX is shaping up as one of the most compelling battles of the week, with reigning world champions Spain’s Paula Barceló and María Cantero facing a resurgent challenger in the form of Canada’s Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance.
Nacra 17: The Heavyweights Return, New Blood Emerges
The Nacra 17 mixed fleet is in the midst of a fascinating transition. The Paris 2024 cycle saw Great Britain’s John Gimson and Anna Burnet — the reigning Olympic silver medallists — establish themselves as the world number one team and consistent medal contenders, while Italy’s Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti showed at Hyères that the Olympic champions are still a force when they choose to race. However they will not be racing at the 2026 Worlds this year due to Ruggero’s commitments to the America’s Cup.
The stakes at this championship go beyond the world titles themselves. As the third event in the Sailing Grand Slam Series, the results in Quiberon will set the World Sailing Olympic class rankings ahead of Kieler Week in June and the Long Beach Olympic Classes event in July — all of which feed directly into the qualification and selection picture for LA 2028.
For the host nation, France’s sailors will be racing in front of a home crowd with particular intensity — Fischer and Péquin in the 49er, several FX teams, and Mourniac and Retornaz in the Nacra 17 will be carrying the hopes of the French sailing federation on waters they know well.
Racing begins on Tuesday 12 May, with six days of competition concluding with medal races on Sunday 17 May.
Text and images courtesy of 49er.org. Read the full release here.