The third day of competition at the iQFOiL Games in Cadiz began with a disappointment for the participants. Under grey skies, there was absolutely no wind in the morning and waiting was the order of the day. After the challenging conditions of the last few days, this was certainly not an unwelcome break. But the athletes' patience was rewarded: a light 10-knot breeze kicked in at around 2 p.m., creating perfect conditions for testing new sprint racing layouts.
Sprint Racing presented itself with three adaptable course options for winds under 15 knots. The idea behind the class is that this variety should encourage versatility among the athletes and challenge different abilities. The already familiar Sprint Slalom consists of a fast reach start, followed by a downwind leg, a gybe and a final reach to the finish. A new addition is the U Sprint, which incorporates an additional upwind beat before the finish reach after the third buoy. As a third variant, the Upwind Sprint starts with an upwind leg, followed by a reach, a downwind passage and the final reach to the finish.
These modular courses are designed to enable smooth transitions between layouts and guarantee dynamic racing even in persistent light wind conditions. The flexibility of the format proved to be a major advantage, allowing a full day of racing to be organised despite the initial calm.
Morris and Hawkins set themselves apart
In the senior men's category, four sprint races were held in the new U-Sprint format. Grae Morris maintained his lead at the top of the overall standings despite being disqualified with a black flag in one race. He won three of the four races and thus defended his leading position. Finn Hawkins also put in a strong performance with two race wins and two second places. He is still in second place overall. The Brit was delighted with the new course formats: "I had a really great day with two wins and two second places. I really liked the new U Sprint, which combines both downwind and upwind elements. It's technically challenging, fun and was perfect for today's light wind."
Max Castelein defended his third place in the overall standings, but the gap to second-placed Hawkins has widened to 27 points. This promises exciting battles for position in the fight for the medals in the coming days.
Steinberg, Kantor, Peleg: Women's podium all from Israel
In the women's event, Tamar Steinberg once again shone with an impressive performance on the day. She won three of the four sprint races - one slalom and three upwind sprints. As a result, she comfortably extended her lead in the overall standings and is now 13 points ahead of her compatriot Sharon Kantor, the silver medallist from Paris 2024. Just one point behind Kantor is another Israeli, Daniela Peleg, which would currently mean an all-Israeli podium in the senior women's event. The competition will do everything in their power to break through this phalanx in the remaining races.
Emma Wilson, bronze medallist at Paris 2024, was delighted with the innovative spirit of the iQFOiL class: "I love the fact that we are constantly trying out new formats at iQFOiL. The upwind sprint was a great addition today, as there were a lot of early starts in the regular slalom format. The upwind starts solved this problem. So many races and so much fun today on the water and in Cadiz."
Flawless record for Yfke van der Meer
Kilian Manhaval continued his impressive dominance in the U19 category. He won all four races of the day and now has an impressive 10 wins in 12 races. Robin Zeley continues to hold on to second place, while Simon Skrepek moved up to third.
Three races were held in the U19 women's category, all of which were won by Yfke Van der Meer. She thus maintains her unblemished record with only first places. Hanna Simon follows in second place, 16 points behind, while Zofia Zarzecka defends third place.
The youngest participants in the U17 classes were the last group to return to shore after 7.30 pm. The U17 men completed three races, the U17 women two. Julia Przybyl, Anna Korevaar and Marta Gajdzinska currently lead the U17 women's rankings. Fin Brull, Merlijn Boswijk and Lorenzo Maroadi are at the top of the U17 men's rankings.
And the Germans? Max Körner and Lenny Friemel both climbed two places and are now in 42nd and 44th place respectively, while Tjalve Böttger slipped two places to 62nd. Erik Wehkamp and Paul Regber also fell slightly in the U19s, currently in 22nd and 27th place respectively, while Nils Präger (31st) and Eddie Burger (40th) both moved up one place,
Outlook for stormy conditions
The weather forecast for Cadiz looks extremely challenging for the last day of the Opening Series before the final Medal Series on Friday. A storm is expected with wind speeds of up to 30 knots and gusts of up to 40 knots. This could jeopardise the completion of the qualifying phase and present the organisers with difficult decisions regarding the feasibility of the races. This could pose a particular challenge for the junior classes. It remains to be seen whether and in what form the competition can be continued, according to the class association.