WMRT: Spectacular opening day at GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women's Trophy

Ten Open teams and eight all-female crews took to the famous Marstrand fjord in perfect Scandinavian summer conditions to begin the battle for the prestigious GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women’s Trophy titles.

Home favourite Johnie Berntsson (SWE) made the perfect start to his regatta, claiming three victories from three matches to top the Open leaderboard after day one.

In the Women’s competition, Pauline Courtois (FRA) and Anna Östling (SWE) each posted three wins from four races, while fellow Swede Martina Carlsson impressed by remaining unbeaten with two wins from two starts.

Now celebrating its 32nd edition, the GKSS Match Cup Sweden remains one of the world’s premier match racing events. Organised annually by the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS), the event has been a cornerstone of the World Match Racing Tour since 2000 and continues to attract thousands of sailing fans to the picturesque island of Marstrand.

Berntsson Makes Early Statement

Leading the Open fleet after the opening day, Berntsson delivered a composed and clinical performance, winning all three of his matches to delight the home crowd.

Among the pre-event favourites is defending 2024 champion Chris Poole (USA) and his Riptide Racing team, featuring Luke Payne, Mal Parker and 2009 World Match Racing Champion Adam Minoprio. Despite recording just one victory from three races on the opening day, Poole remains firmly in contention as the qualifying round robin continues.

Defending 2025 Match Cup Sweden champion Jeppe Borch (DEN) begins his title defence tomorrow.

“It is great to be back here in Marstrand,” said Borch. “We love racing here and while it looks like we may have some windy conditions this week, we are looking forward to the challenge of defending our title.”

Australia’s Cole Tapper (Kairos Racing) and France’s Ange Delerce, making his debut appearance at the GKSS Match Cup Sweden, also enjoyed encouraging starts with two wins each from three matches.

The battle for the 2026 Nordea Women’s Trophy also got underway with eight elite international crews representing Europe and North America.

France’s Pauline Courtois and Sweden’s Anna Östling quickly established themselves among the frontrunners with three victories each, but it was Sweden’s Martina Carlsson and Beyond Racing who produced one of the standout performances of the day, remaining undefeated after two races.

“Marstrand is a very special place for us,” said Carlsson. “There is always such a huge crowd and so many Swedish flags, which really encourages us. We enjoy sailing in stronger breeze and, after finishing fourth last year, we’re definitely aiming for the podium this week.”

Making their Nordea Women’s Trophy debuts are two American teams — Lindsey Baab’s Fog Racing from San Francisco and Caroline Bayless’ Team Something Chill from Annapolis.

After only one light-air practice session yesterday, both crews faced the challenge of stronger winds and their first experience racing the FarEast 28 keelboats.

Racing Continues

Round robin racing resumes tomorrow from 09:30 local time, with the qualifying stages continuing through to Saturday as teams battle for places in the knockout finals.

For full results, see https://www.matchracingresults.com/

The 2026 GKSS Match Cup Sweden forms part of the World Match Racing Tour, the longest-running professional sailing series in the world, where the season champion is crowned the World Sailing Match Racing World Champion.

Text and images courtesy of WMRT.com.