49er, 49erFX, FX Open and Nacra 17 Junior World Championship 2026 in Medemblik - Preview
by Alexia Lahoud 20 Jul 14:07 PDT
The 2026 Junior World Championship opens this week in Medemblik, Netherlands, where the best young sailors in the world will race for world titles in the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 classes, along with the FX Open division. The event is hosted by the International 49er and Nacra 17 Class Association together with the Royal Yacht Club Hollandia and the Dutch High Performance Sailing Class, and runs from the 19th to 26th of July.
Sailors began arriving on the 19th of July for registration and equipment measurement, with the championship officially opening on the 21st of July. Racing gets under way on the 22nd and continues through five days of competition, moving from qualification racing into an elimination series (only for the 49er) and finishing with the last day of racing and the prize-giving ceremony on the 26th of July.
This year's championship has drawn close to 120 boats across the four fleets, representing 27 nations. The 49er fleet alone counts 56 boats from 23 countries, while 28 boats from 16 nations will race 49erFX. The FX Open division (men, women and mixed) has attracted 15 entries from seven countries, and 19 teams from eight nations will contest the Nacra 17 title. Sailors have travelled in from as far as Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Hong Kong, joining strong fleets from the traditional sailing nations of Europe and North America.
Among the fleet in Medemblik are last year's 49er world champions. Kjell Haschen and Iven Fromm of Germany, who won the title in 2025 in Rungsted, Denmark, are back this year sailing GER 182, and will look to defend their crown. The 49erFX title will be contested without last year's champions, as Katharina Schwachhofer and Elena Stoltze of Germany have since moved up into the senior ranks and are racing on this year's senior circuit rather than at the Junior Worlds. The Nacra 17 class did not crown a champion in 2025, after that year's championship was cancelled, so the sailors racing in Medemblik are chasing a title that has been on hold for two years.
Medemblik is well known in sailing circles as a venue with a long history in Olympic class racing. Royal Yacht Club Hollandia has run major regattas out of the town since founding the SPA Regatta in 1985, and Medemblik has since hosted a long list of international championships. The Regatta Center offers a compact base with modern facilities, a large boat park and enough space on the water for three separate race courses, all within walking distance of the town's medieval centre, home to Radboud Castle and the Steam Museum.
Sailors can typically expect westerly or south westerly breeze of 10 to 14 knots in July, short choppy waves from the shallow water, and a wide open racing area with little current, conditions that have made the venue a fair and reliable test for competitors over the years. Organisers have also built sustainability into this year's event, cutting single use plastics from the race course and encouraging eco conscious habits among athletes and teams.
Coverage of the championship will run throughout the week, with daily press releases and photo galleries published each day of racing. Sailing fans can follow along on Instagram through the 49ersailing and nacra17sailing accounts for live updates, results and behind the scenes.
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