News

Porto Cervo, 20th October 2024. The penultimate leg of the WingFoil Racing World Championship, underway in Cagliari from 16th October, drew to a close today. With 10 races completed, Maddalena Spanu, a member of the YCCS’ Young Azzurra programme, finished in second place ahead of Nia Suarez, with victory going to Manon Pianazza. The overall ranking, which will determine the winner of the WingFoil Racing World Championship, will become definitive after the final leg, set to take place in Brazil from 3rd to 7th December. Maddalena currently sits in second place overall, just a few points behind Spain’s Nia Suardiaz.

The Sardinian leg of the WingFoil Racing World Championship was characterised by varied weather conditions which saw 10 races completed in just two of the five scheduled race days. In today’s final day of the event, unfortunately the wind was too light to complete enough races for the finals, leaving the classification therefore unchanged. 

Maddalena faced a challenging start to the event, securing third and seventh places on the first day of racing in the Golfo degli Angeli on October 16th. The seventh-place finish was due to a setback when a plastic bag got caught in the foil, causing a delay in her return to the competition. The scoreline remained unchanged at the end of the following day when the two races of the day were cancelled due to the lack of breeze. On day three, after a long wait ashore, the AP over A signal was hoisted at around 4.30 p.m. to announce that racing could not take place, again due to the lack of wind. 

Sitting in in sixth position in a fleet of 20, the Young Azzurra athlete took to the water on the penultimate day ready to do everything possible to climb up the provisional classification. A determined and focused performance saw her notch up three consecutive victories on the morning of 19th October, before returning to the water for the second session of racing in the afternoon. All five scheduled races were completed in the afternoon, and after posting a 3-5-2-5 scoreline, the Young Azzurra athlete rounded off the day with another victory. Thanks to these results and the discard of the two worst scores in the series - a 7th and a 5th place - Maddalena moved up to second place in the classification, earning herself direct access to the final. Today's Medal Race would have decided the winner of the leg, however an increasingly light Mistral breeze meant racing could not go ahead. 

“I’m happy with this result, of course the goal was victory but considering all the variables that characterised this leg I’m satisfied with how I reacted and handled the competition. Yesterday was a fantastic day, winning four out of eight races in my home waters is always exciting. Today I was ready to do everything to secure first place, it wasn’t possible but I’ll take to the second step of the podium with a smile, and more determined than ever to win in Brazil, the last leg of the World Championship.” commented Maddalena.

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda congratulates Maddalena on her result.