NZL Sailing Team: Three Kiwi windfoilers in Medal series at Hyères
by Eduan Roos/Yachting New Zealand 24 Apr 02:34 PDT
Stella Bilger (NZL) - iQFoil Women - 57th French Olympic Week in Hyères - Day 3 © Sailing Energy / French Olympic Week Hyères - TPM
Three Kiwi windfoilers will fight for silverware tonight (NZ time) after Aimee Bright, Stella Bilger and Josh Armit all advanced to the medal series following four days of racing at the 2026 French Olympic Week.
The trio progressed in their respective iQFOiL events at the second major regatta of the international season on the Bay of Hyères, navigating a demanding final day of gold-fleet competition to keep New Zealand firmly in contention.
Bright was the standout, securing four top-10 finishes for the day, including a third place — her sixth podium result of the regatta — to qualify fourth overall. That placing sends her straight through to the semifinals under the event’s finals format, avoiding the sudden-death quarterfinal stage.
Bilger, meanwhile, finished eighth overall and will need to race her way into the semis, with only the top two from the quarterfinal progressing. Armit faces the same path in the men’s fleet after qualifying seventh overall, a position he has held for most of the week.
Their advancement follows a physically taxing stretch of racing in Hyères, where strong easterly winds and choppy conditions tested the fleet. Sailors further out in the bay contended with persistent swell, making for fast, technical racing that demanded precise control on the foils.
The conditions are set to shift for the medal series, with lighter southwesterly winds forecast and a calmer sea state expected to place greater emphasis on tactics rather than outright power.
Veerle ten Have narrowly missed joining her teammates in the medal series, finishing 11th overall — just five points shy of the top-10 cutoff. Eli Liefting was 16th and Blake Hinsley 57th in the men’s fleet.
New Zealand’s kitefoil campaign wrapped up short of the finals, with Lucy Bilger finishing 16th in the women’s fleet, while Lukas Walton-Keim and Lochy Naismith placed 22nd and 31st respectively in the men’s.
In the 49er class, Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn remain in contention for a top-10 finish and a place on the podium. The pair claimed their first race win of the regatta in gold fleet racing, and followed it with 17th and 14th to sit ninth overall with one day of qualifying remaining.
Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan are 18th in the same fleet, while Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren are 26th overall and sixth in the silver fleet.
Nicola and Rebecca Hume produced their best day of the regatta in the 49erFX, posting results of 9th, 12th and 14th to climb to 23rd overall.
Greta Pilkington sits 32nd in the 84-boat ILCA 6 fleet.
Latest results and standings here. sof.regatta.ffvoile.fr/en/default/races/race-resultsall
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