470 class at French Olympic Week Hyères - Day 1
by International 470 Class Association 20 Apr 08:47 PDT
18-25 April 2026
French Olympic Week Day 1 © Sailing Energy / French Olympic Week Hyères
The opening day of French Olympic Week is complete, delivering light winds and three races that saw Italians Elena Berta and Giulio Calabrò take a commanding lead. The second stop of the Sailing Grand Slam is now officially under way.
Berta and Calabrò, known for their consistency, once again began the regatta strongly. The Italian duo finished 3rd, 1st, and 10th across the three races. Close behind are the British pair Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris, who have been demonstrating excellent form since the start of the season. Rounding out the podium are Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini, who also sailed consistently, staying within the top ten in every race.
One of the biggest surprises of the day is the impressive debut of Afrodite Zegers-de Kleine, who has returned to competition after a long break. The Tokyo Olympian is competing in France alongside Filippos Koulouris.
What a day! First day of racing for me after a really long time, with a crew that we did three trainings together. Actually, I was really happy to just be back and race again and play the game," said Afrodite Zegers.
Zegers and Koulouris currently hold a strong 7th place overall, including an excellent 2nd-place finish in the opening race. The lighter wind conditions on day one appear to suit them well.
We tried not to take a lot of risks on the start and upwind. And of course, the other teams are really trained, the level is high, and we are getting used to sailing together. Some basic stuff we cannot really do yet, but I'm really, really happy also with Philippos for stepping in.
Zegers also highlighted the young age of her crewmate, who is rising to the challenge.
He's such a young sailor, 19, and he did 420 and only just a little bit of 470. And he's been really a legend on trying to adapt and sail well under pressure.
I'm really grateful to just be here. It's sunny, and I can play the game again, as I said, and do tactics. So I'm just really happy that the first impression is that, at least in these conditions, the very light conditions, we are competitive.
I think in the breeze it's going to be a bit difficult because we are quite light. But step by step, every day is a new day, and we'll just do our best. Hopefully, tomorrow's two good races, and then we can continue with the top of the fleet.
After the first day, it is also worth noting the strong performance of the Swiss team, Yves Mermod and Maja Siegenthaler, currently in 5th place. The sailors only resumed training this year after a longer break following the Paris Olympics. Just outside the top ten, in 11th place, is another promising young crew: Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio.
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