470 Class Sailing Season Review

by International 470 Class Association 27 Dec 2025 10:30 PST

470 fleet © International 470 Class Association

We're excited to bring you the latest updates, achievements, and upcoming events from our sailing community. This time of year is a time for reflection and summary, so let's take a look at what we've accomplished together and what lies ahead.

General Recap of the Sailing Season - Key Events of the Year

470 World Championship podium - photo © Szymon Sikora

Senior Events - Spanish Dominance Marks a Tight Post-Olympic Season

The post-Olympic season brought many changes and a fresh dynamic to the international sailing scene, setting the tone for an exciting year of competition. The season opened in Split, Croatia, where, after nearly 40 days of joint training and intense racing, Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona claimed the top of the podium. It was only the beginning of their impressive performance throughout 2025. The silver medal went to the British team of Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris, while the French crew of Matisse Pacaud and Lucie de Gennes secured third place.

This year's senior calendar was particularly compact. Less than two months later, the world's top crews met again in Gdynia, Poland, to compete for the World Championship title. In the medal race, the Spanish duo sealed their second crown of the season, once again finishing on the highest step of the podium. The German team of Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort took silver, while bronze went once again to the British pair - Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris.

Junior Events A Global Battle of Talent: Nearly 50 Crews Fight for European & World Glory

In mid-July, the Junior World Championships in Murcia, Spain, crowned the Israeli team of Roy Lavy and Ariel Gal as world champions. They finished ahead of France's Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel, with Italy's Livia Ciampinelli and Nicola Brunotti completing the podium.

Just two weeks later, the European Championships brought another shift at the top. The French team of Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel claimed the continental title, followed by Israel's Roy Levy and Ariel Gal. The Greek duo of Lampis Giannoulis and Eleni Giannouli finished third in the European standings and placed fourth overall in the general classification, just behind Japan's Koki Yasunaga and Daisuke Matsuyama.

Nearly 50 crews took part in the European Championships, while 42 teams competed at the Junior World Championships.

Polish Championships in Gdynia - photo © International 470 Class Association

Innovations on the water? Is the 470 class entering a new era?

This year, various race formats were tested: in September, during the Polish Championships in Gdynia, different course configurations were trialed, while in November, during the Gran Canaria Olympic Week, further innovations were introduced — all as part of World Sailing's effort to reshape race formats and enhance the attractiveness and spectacle of the sport.

Gran Canaria Finals - New Format Tested

The Gran Canaria Finals were sailed using a new Olympic-style medal series format designed to keep the racing close and the scoring easy to follow.

After the opening series, teams started the final day with adjusted points based on a compressed scoring system: no more than 9 points between neighbouring teams, and no more than 18 points between 3rd and 10th place. This kept the fleet tight and ensured everyone still had realistic chances to move up.

The final day featured two short races, scored normally with no discards. The overall results were simply the sum of the adjusted points and the points earned in these two races. The compact leaderboard made position changes clear and easy to track.

Importantly, the gold medal was still open going into the last race - the points gap was small enough that the winner could change right at the end.

Overview

The compressed scoring and two-race medal series created a fair, exciting finish. Several teams significantly improved their standings, and the final result came down to the very last race. The Gran Canaria Finals showed how this format delivers an engaging, decisive end to the regatta, highlighting the importance of consistency and execution on the final day.

Polish Championships - testing a new race format for the 470 class

During the championships, a new, highly dynamic race format was tested. Short, intense races shifted priorities: trimming mattered less, while maneuvers, positioning, and tactics became crucial. Each day featured a different setup.The event was held over four days. On Day 1, three short sprint races of 12-14 minutes were sailed on an up-and-down course with a top gate. Day 2 featured a downwind slalom, starting with a traditional upwind start and first beat, after which the fleet sailed through reaching-leg slaloms to the finish; crews could choose whether to hoist the spinnaker, and the strong, gusty winds of over 20 knots made racing challenging. On Day 3, the races began with a reaching start straight to the first mark, which was rounded to starboard, followed by a downwind slalom without spinnakers. Day 4 again started with a reaching start and a starboard rounding, then continued downwind to the gates, after which the fleet sailed an upwind leg, rounded the top mark to port, and finished on a broad reach.

"This format forces you to think more about positioning and your rivals. With such short races, trimming becomes less important, while maneuvers and tactics matter more," said Szymon Wierzbicki.

Marta Cardona Alcántara – Young World Sailor of the Year! - photo © World Sailing

Marta Cardona Alcántara - Young World Sailor of the Year!

This year has been truly remarkable for the 470 crew, Jordi Xammar Hernàndez and Marta Cardona. Together, they became European and World Champions in the 470 class! For Marta, it was a debut season to remember — she made an incredible impression by winning both the 470 Mixed World and European Championships. Even more impressively, she claimed the European title after just 40 days of sailing together with Jordi Xammar, and the World title only a month later.

The World Sailing Awards ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, was a special moment for both sailors. Jordi Xammar Hernández was nominated for the Men's Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award, being recognized among the top four sailors in the world.

During the ceremony, Jordi said: "It's an honour to be here at the World Sailing Awards and to be shortlisted. You just have to look at the list to realise how hard it is to get here. We had an amazing year with Marta — it really shows what we've managed to build in such a short time."

SEA Games 2025 - Navee Thamsoontorn and Nichapa Waiwai - photo © International 470 Class Association

Thai Crew Navee Thamsoontorn and Nichapa Waiwai Win Gold at the SEA Games 2025

Thailand celebrated a major sailing triumph at the SEA Games 2025, as Navee Thamsoontorn and Nichapa Waiwai clinched the gold medal after an intense series of ten races.

After all races were completed, the Thai duo secured victory with a four-point advantage over the Malaysian team of Muhammad Fauzi Kaman Shah and Juni Karimah Noor Jamali. The competition was exceptionally close, with both crews exchanging race wins throughout the regatta. Thailand dominated six races, while Malaysia claimed three, keeping the fight for the title alive until the final stages.

The bronze medal was claimed by the Philippines, thanks to a consistent performance by Edgar Villapaa and Jonalyn Parocha across the entire series.

Celebrating 50 Years of the 470 in the Olympic Games – Anniversary in 2026 - photo © International 470 Class Association

Celebrating 50 Years of the 470 in the Olympic Games - Anniversary in 2026

The year marks the 50th anniversary of the 470 Class joining the Olympic programme, a milestone that began at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Initially introduced as an open event, the class evolved in 1988 at the Seoul Olympic Games into separate men's and women's competitions — with the women's 470 becoming the first women-only sailing event in Olympic history.

From Paris 2024 onward, the 470 Class has entered a new era as a mixed-gender discipline, reflecting both the sport's commitment to equality and the enduring adaptability of the class. For five decades, the 470 has showcased teamwork, technical excellence, and fair competition, remaining one of the most iconic and influential classes in Olympic sailing.

New 470 Class Management Committee for 2025 - 2028

New 470 Class Management Committee for 2025-2028 The 470 Internationale announces the new Management Committee for the 2025-2028 term. The Committee is responsible for the governance and administration of the Association and works closely with the Executive Director to support the global development of the 470 Class.

"It is an honor to lead the 470 Class for the upcoming term. Together with the new Committee, we will continue to strengthen our class, support our sailors, and build a collaborative and forward-looking global community, said the president of the 470 Class, Igor Marenic.

Management Committee