iQFOiL: Grae Morris dominates U23 World Championship opener, Meyer in the top ten

The Algarve region is the backdrop for the iQFOiL U23 World Championship 2025 from 6 to 13 September, with 143 participants from 30 nations. Yesterday, a stable north-westerly wind of 15 to 18 knots saw the first course races in front of the Santa Catarina Fortress in Portimao. While the men were split into two groups, the 48 women took to the water as a full fleet.

Grae Morris in top form

In the U23 men's category, Grae Morris delivered a flawless performance and secured victory in all four races of the day. The Australian, who won the silver medal in the iQFOiL event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, proves that he is still in top form. In second place is Federico Pilloni, most recently 18th at the Senior World Championships in Aarhus in July 2025. "It was the first day of racing here in Portimao, it was a really nice day of racing, especially for me. I had two wins and two second places in solid 15-knot course racing. It was really nice to sail here, with lots of different tactical choices and a great fleet. I'm happy and ready for the next few days," said Pilloni.

Third place went to Gur Lavi Prag from Israel. With these results, the first day is already shaping up to be an exciting race for the podium places, which should provide plenty of excitement in the coming days. The best German is Max Körner in 34th place, who was consistently among the top 20 in his group. Jakob Ditzen follows in 38th place, Lenny Friemel is 46th, Max Winkler is 80th and Bastian Weber is 94th.

Close three-way battle in the women's race: Mobekk vs Millend vs Gysler

In the women's fleet, Mina Mobekk, the 2023 European champion, makes an impressive return to the international stage. She finished the day level on points with Emma Millend from Estonia, whose strong performance put the pressure on at the top of the rankings. Maya Gysler, last year's U23 World Championship runner-up, is close behind in third place. Sophia Meyer is solidly in the top ten in eighth place, while Emma Schleicher is currently 32nd.

"Today we had four course races and the wind was pretty strong. I had some good and fun duels with my team-mate Mina, which made the day even more entertaining. I think it's going to be a good week, so stay tuned," commented Maya Gysler.