iQFOiL Youth & Junior World Championships: Four new world champions - Emma and Moritz Schleicher in the top ten

After a week full of excitement, intense competition and weather-related delays, the iQFOiL Youth & Junior World Championships 2025 in Brest came to a close yesterday with the Medal Races. Among them: Moritz Schleicher in the boys' U17 and his sister Emma Schleicher in the girls' U19, who finished second in the preliminary round and went straight through to the grand final.

Medea Falcioni shows nerves of steel

In the U19 women's category, Italy's Medea Falcioni showed nerves of steel and skill when it mattered most. After a difficult start in the first two runs of the Grand Final, she returned to her best form in the decisive third run. With a perfect start, she immediately took the lead and held it until the finish, which earned her the world championship title. "We've just finished the Medal Series and it was absolutely great. We had three races in the Grand Final. All of them were incredibly close. The leaders were constantly changing and it was a fantastic race," said the visibly moved Falcioni after her triumph.

Italy's dominance in this category was emphasised by Francesca Salerno, who won the silver medal. Turkey's Nurhayat Güven completed the podium with bronze after impressively fighting her way through from the quarter-finals to the Grand Final. For the Italian team, these results meant important points in the battle for the Nations Cup, which also went to Italy in the end. Emma Schleicher, on the other hand, did not have an ideal day, finishing fourth, fourth and third in the three final runs. With fourth place in the overall standings and a strong and consistent performance throughout the week, Schleicher has arrived at the top of the world in her age group. Eva Lotte Grünbaum finished the World Championships in 45th place.

Sensational race to catch up by Thea Le Borgne Zibetti in the U17 girls' competition

The U19 men's category also featured a thrilling three-way battle in the Grand Final. Turkey's Artun Senol fought his way through the quarter and semi-finals and secured a victory in the first heat of the Grand Final. But in the end, Australia's Rory Meehan prevailed with two wins and took the world title. "That was very tough. The guys made it super difficult for me. I won the first race, then Artun took the second, but I just managed to win the third. I'm very happy," said Meehan after his success. Artun Senol secured the silver medal, while the Italian Mattia Saoncella, who had gone into the Grand Final in the lead, had to make do with bronze. The best German was Matti Winkler in 42nd place, followed by Erik Wehkamp in 58th, Max Winkler in 78th and Nils Präger in 80th. Marius Müller and Siddharta Hummler were right next to each other in 109th and 110th place, Paul Regber finished the World Championships in 119th place and Eddie Burger in 136th.

Perhaps the most surprising story of the World Championships was written by France's Thea Le Borgne Zibetti in the U17 girls' category. She was still in tenth place overall the evening before, but was given the eighth starting place for the Medal Series at the last minute after other participants were demoted due to technical penalties. The young Frenchwoman made impressive use of this opportunity: she won the quarter-final, came second in the semi-final and secured the only heat of the Grand Final before the races had to be cancelled due to a drop in the wind.

"I've just won the World Championships, it's just incredible. I'm from Lorient, not far from here, and it's just fantastic, I can't believe it, I'm really happy," beamed Le Borgne Zibetti after her unexpected triumph. The silver medal went to Naama Palatnik from Israel, while Parla Kabasakal from Turkey won bronze.

Dutch dominance in the U17 boys

Merlijn Boswijk put in an impressive performance in the U17 boys' category. Although he only got into the action in the semi-finals, he dominated the decisive heats and won both the semi-finals and both races of the Grand Final. In doing so, he overtook his Dutch team-mates Peyton Dits and Finn Brull, who won silver and bronze - a complete Oranje podium.

"I've just become U17 World Champion. Today was really tricky, we had quite light winds... Then I rode a really good semi-final, I won it. Then we did our first Grand Final and I won that too. In the next and last final... I had a nice gust and was able to capitalise on it. I feel really great. It's unbelievable, I can't believe it. But I feel incredibly happy, it's crazy," said an overwhelmed Boswijk after his triumph. Moritz Schleicher was fourth in the preliminary round and reached the semi-finals, but only had a "DNC" (Did Not Compete) on his scoresheet. That meant sixth place in the overall standings. Gustav Grünbaum finished in 53rd place and Fritz Grünbaum was 116th.

Italy secures the Nations Cup

The Nations Cup provided additional excitement at the World Championships. With several strong performances in various categories, including gold and silver for the U19 women and bronze for the U19 men, Italy secured the coveted title. Turkey followed closely behind in second place, while hosts France took third place on the podium.

Results iQFOiL Youth & Junior World Championship 2025

U19 Women

• 1 Medea Falcioni
• 2. Francesca Salerno
• 3 Nurhayat Güven

U19 Men

• 1st Rory Meehan
• 2. artun senol
• 3 Mattia Saoncella

U17 girls

• 1st Théa Le Borgne Zibetti
• 2. naama Palatnik
• 3rd Parla Kabasakal

U17 boys

• 1st Merlijn Boswijk
• 2. peyton dits
• 3. fin Brull

Nations ranking

• 1. italy
• 2. turkey
• 3. france