2025 Wingfoil Racing Youth and Masters World Championships Praia Da Vitoria - Day 4
by WingFoil Racing World Cup 25 Oct 2025 12:13 PDT
21-26 October 2025
2025 Wingfoil Racing Youth and Masters World Championships © IWSA media / Robert Hajduk
The penultimate day of the WingFoil Racing Youth and Masters World Championships in the Azores delivered high drama, powerful winds, and no shortage of excitement as the race for tomorrow's finals reached its climax.
With only the top nine earning automatic qualification to Sunday's medal series, and everyone else left to fight for a last-chance "Golden Ticket" in tomorrow's do-or-die race, the stakes were high.
After several frustrating days of light winds, today brought the conditions the riders had been waiting for.
With a northerly breeze gusting to over 30 knots, racing started early under stormy skies. The bay was alive with spray, crashes, and the occasional exploding wing as riders battled not only one another but the rapidly shifting gusts and cross swell.
Youth Boys: Gladiadis and De Amicis go head-to-head
The fierce rivalry between New Zealand's Kosta Gladiadis and Italy's Ernesto De Amicis reignited from the start.
De Amicis looked poised to steal the overall lead after finishing ahead in the first two races, but a pair of shaky performances later in the day allowed the Kiwi to reassert control.
Both secured automatic qualification for tomorrow's final, ensuring their duel will continue on the biggest stage.
Jean Paul Villegas of Colombia squeezed into the medal series in ninth, keeping his championship hopes alive by the narrowest of margins.
The Czech Republic's Stepan Benes had a standout day, bouncing back from early misfortune when a broken wing forced him back to shore. Undeterred, he returned to win two races, climbing to fourth overall and booking a semi-final spot.
The variable breeze saw riders constantly returning to shore to swap wings, nerves evident as they tried to second-guess the ever-changing conditions and their opponents' strategies.
Youth Girls: Italian consistency pays off
In the girls' fleet, it was a day of highs and heartbreak. China's Yana Li started strongly showing her confidence in the gusty conditions as she hunted down Hong Kong's Claire Tian Yu Tse for the overall lead. Her plan worked, briefly, before disaster struck with two disqualifications for false starts. Those costly errors saw her tumble from first to fourth overall.
Italy's Lara Cristina Talarico was super-consistent, rarely finishing outside the top three. Her steady performances earned her the overall lead heading into tomorrow's final. She will be joined there Tse.
Spain's Leya Seguí Mearns, who relished the conditions finished third and will join Li in the semi-final.
Masters: Rashley rises to the challenge
"That was one of the hardest days of racing in my career," is how fleet leader Chris Rashley summed up his day. The Briton described dramatic conditions with "cross swells, big shifts, and wind holes" but still managed to finish top of the standings and claim his place in the final.
Even an exploding wing failed to knock him off course - his wife Anais Mai Desjardins, who he normally coaches, was on hand with her own set of wings and disaster was avoided.
Italy's Paolo Migliorini claimed the second automatic finals berth after a solid day's performance, ensuring Italy will be represented in all three finals tomorrow.
Thailand's Satchapong Vimonsatiankit and Ukraine's Anton Kuzmenko also shone, finishing third and fourth respectively to secure semi-final spots.
The day wasn't without its lighter moments. Italian veteran Matteo Spanu, better known as the coach and father of reigning world champion Maddalena Spanu, threw in the towel after a bruising session. "I'm a coach - I can't do this anymore!" he laughed after returning to shore. His daughter is here in the Azores to coach her father but has also found it tough, "I can't sit here watching any longer," she said whilst carrying her gear down to the ocean " I'm going straight out there for some fun". Order has returned to the Spanu household.
Meanwhile, home fans had something to cheer as Portugal's Pedro Das Neves, an experienced big-boat sailor, clinched the final automatic qualifying spot in ninth.
Medal series
With Italy celebrating finalists in all three categories - Youth Boys, Youth Girls and Masters - the nation's strength across generations is clear. The last day's finals promise high tension, fierce competition, and more of the spectacular action that the Azores have already delivered in abundance.
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More information and full results here.