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THE FINAL CHAPTER: iQFOiL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DRAMA

Unfinished business at the Musto iQFOiL World Championships

After shooting the wet and wild full-fleet action on Tuesday, John Carter headed back down to Weymouth to settle some unfinished business at the Musto iQFOiL World Championships.

This time around it was the high-stakes Medal Races, with the top ten sailors in both fleets going head-to-head for the ultimate prizes. With everything on the line, tension, pressure and drama were guaranteed.

Words: John Carter // Photos: John Carter and Sailing Energy

Click any photos to enlarge and scroll! As always…Best viewed on the big screen!

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JC: As I headed home on the train on Tuesday, I received a message from iQFOiL Class Manager Gonzalo Costa Hoevel saying, “You should come back for the Medal Races on Saturday.”

To be honest, I didn’t need much persuasion.

After all, you can read a book without finishing the final chapter, but it doesn’t mean you should. I had only seen one small glimpse of the action on Tuesday and having experienced the incredible atmosphere and intensity of the racing, it felt wrong not to go back and witness the business end of the event.

So, a few days later, I was heading back to Weymouth for one final dose of iQFOiL action – this time with everything on the line.

ROUND TWO

I left home at 5:30am under clear skies as I headed off the Isle of Wight, but by the time I arrived in Weymouth at 10am, a blanket of cloud had swept in. At least the wind was already blowing from the south-west.

The first start was due at midday, but down at the event HQ everything seemed relatively quiet compared with Tuesday. There were plenty of sailors packing things away and dismantling their kit. At this stage of the game, there were only 20 sailors left in the mix.

For the Brits, all our hopes were pinned on Islay Watson our only Union Jack left on the starting grid,…Islay was due to contest the first knockout race of the women’s Medal Series. I had a quick word with her as she appeared from the sailing academy and she reckoned she was going “all in.”

Compared with the last World Championships, where the Brits took gold in both fleets with Emma Wilson and Andy Brown claiming the titles, Weymouth 2026 had been something of a disappointment for the home sailors.

It was all down to Islay to make amends.

No pressure, then…

FINALISTS ONLY

By 11am, the remaining sailors started appearing and gathering their gear from the special quarantine equipment tent, where all the equipment had been checked and measured for the 20 finalists.

There was definitely a different feel around the place compared with Tuesday. The crowds were smaller, the fleet was tiny by comparison and there was considerably less equipment flying around. But the atmosphere was far more intense.

Everyone knew what was at stake.

The iQFOiL Medal Race format is designed to turn the final day into a short, sharp dose of high-stakes racing. The sailors ranked sixth to tenth go into the first knockout race, with the two winners progressing to race the sailors ranked third to fifth.

The two winners from that race then advance to the final, where they face the top two seeds.

In the women’s final, those top two were Tamar Steinberg and Sharon Kantor, while Luuc van Opzeeland and Noah Lyons occupied the top two spots in the men’s fleet.

If one of the top two seeds wins the opening final race, it’s game over. If one of the two additional finalists wins, however, they need to win again…meaning the first sailor to accumulate two victories takes the World Championship title.

In other words, the whole shebang could potentially be over after just six races.

This was going to be fast and furious with absolutely no room for error.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Today I was in a different boat, along with two Dutch journalists and Sarah Jackson from the PWA.

We were warned that, although this boat was quite a bit bigger than our previous ride, it was also going to be considerably wetter thanks to its flattish hull…or something along those lines. I am not a boat guy obviously…I just get in them and hope for the best…The one equation I have learned after many years photographing from RIB’s is…RIB + WIND + CHOP + SPEED = HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE AND GETTING ABSOLUTLELY DRENCHED!

I had come reasonably prepared, but after Tuesday’s experience I knew there was a very strong possibility I would most likely be looking like a drowned rat come the end of the day.

Fabulous.

Still, this was the Medal Races. There was no way I was going to miss this.

NO WAY BACK

Out on the water, racing kicked off bang on schedule at midday.

Sadly, poor Islay Watson never quite got into top gear in her first heat and was duly eliminated. That was it for our British hopes…ninth place overall for Islay, who will obviously be disappointed not to have made the finals.

World Championship results also have wider repercussions, with Olympic funding and selection often hanging in the balance. There was going to be so much riding on every tack, every start and every position.

DRAMA ON THE WATER

The next few heats delivered mental crashes, high-intensity racing and of course, the standard drenching as our boat raced backwards and forwards between the start and finish.

Then came the men’s semi-final.

It looked as though Kiran Badloe and reigning Olympic champion Tom Reuveny had advanced into the final, with both celebrating as they crossed the finish ahead of Johan Soe and Nico Goyard.

But shortly afterwards, chatter started coming over the radio that the heat might have to be re-sailed following potential over-earlies at the start.

Not ideal.

The guys had already celebrated, started thinking about the final and quite possibly, started imagining medals around their necks. Then suddenly it was back to square one.

SECOND CHANCE

In the re-run, it was Soe and Goyard who clinched the vital places in the final, leaving Badloe and Reuveny out in the cold. Kiran Badloe, who famously won Olympic gold on the RS: X in 2020, was understandably not a happy man.

He put in a protest and when that was dismissed, we saw him venting his frustration by smashing his helmet against the console of his coach’s boat. That must have been one seriously bitter pill to swallow.

Nico Goyard later explained why the race was re run on his social media…

“For those wondering what happened on the semi final that got cancelled…I felt the start may have been over and was really surprised that there was no recall! So the first thing I did after the race was to check the replay of the start and thank to the amazing new light system of he iQFOiL class I could tell with certainty that at least one rider was over the line before the start signal. So I went straight to the race committee to confront them about it and they accepted they made a mistake. The only solution was to completely abandon the semi final and do it again from scratch (so no five second penalty for those who were over). Thank you to the race committee for admitting their mistake and doing their best to get the solution fixed! Of course it is preferable when things are clean right away and i sorry for Kiran Badloe to whom it probably does not feel fair!”

 

THE MEDAL RACES

In both the men’s and women’s finals there was no need for a re-run, with the top-ranked sailors who had entered Medal Day in first and second going on to take those positions in the opening final race.

In the women’s final, Tamar Steinberg came out triumphant after a close tussle with fellow Israeli Sharon Kantor. Australian Stella Bilger took third and was clearly over the moon to find herself amongst the silverware, while Daniella Peleg of Israel took fourth.

The Israeli team must have been delighted with gold and silver medals and three sailors making it into the women’s final.

MEN’S SHOWDOWN

Dutch sailor Luuc van Opzeeland came home with a clear lead in the fast and furious men’s final, despite being chased all the way by Noah Lyons from the USA. Johan Soe was elated to take bronze for Denmark, while Nico Goyard had to settle for fourth.

For Soe, it was another impressive result after switching his full-time focus from the PWA to iQFOiL this season. The Beast had officially joined the medal party.

EMOTIONS RUN HIGH

After the finishes came the celebrations, followed by the obligatory interviews with the press as the armada of boats gathered around the winners to capture every last moment. Of course, while there were huge smiles and relief from the medal winners, there were also some very disappointed sailors who had higher expectations!

That is the brutal nature of Medal Day. You can spend an entire week fighting your way through a World Championship, only for everything to come down to a handful of short races. In our boat, we were all pretty drenched, but it had been amazing to be there at the finish to witness the celebrations and all the emotions that came out after such an intense week of racing.

ONE LAST JOB

There was still no time to waste. The next item on the menu was the prize-giving ceremony back at the event village in Weymouth, down by the bandstand.

The OTC stand was looking very busy in the village, while big crowds were enjoying the RYA activities and Fan Zone. Families had been treated to a full day of entertainment, from Marine CSI environmental sessions and face painting to competitions, knot-tying challenges, the Lewmar grinding rig and of course, the big screen showing all the racing live.

After the drama on the water, it was a suitably busy finale to the event.

MISSION COMPLETE

Once the prizes had been awarded, that signalled my cue to head for the train station and attempt to get dry. This time around, I made it home to the boat perfectly on time.

There was just one slight problem.

I’d spotted a delicious-looking shortbread caramel cake in Weymouth railway station and, in my excitement to catch the train, somehow managed to leave it sitting on the counter before boarding…Drat!

After surviving four hours of iQFOiL carnage, getting drenched on two separate days and photographing some of the best foilers on the planet, this was perhaps the most painful moment of the entire mission.

Grrrr.

Still, you can’t have everything.

And with that, the final chapter was complete.

BEST OF THE BRITS!

Weymouth certainly did not produce the results the Brits were hoping for and I am sure there are plenty of explanations that can be explored. One thing for sure…the level all round in the fleet is at an all time high. Many countries are backing their teams with more and more coaching and investment. The Brits have a solid squad with so much talent but all the other teams are also pushing harder than ever.

In the women, Islay Watson was our top ranked rider and did amazing to make the medals races finishing 9th, while Emma Wilson took 16th, followed by Jennie Roberts in 36th, Lucy Kenyon 37th, Evelyn Clark in 55th and Sophie Clark in 60th!

Over in the men’s fleet our top ranked rider was Finn Hawkins who did incredibly well to take 12th, Andy Brown took 16th, Duncan Monaghan 17th, Matt Barton 22nd, Max Beaman in 36th and Sam Sills in 42nd.

LUUC VAN OPZEELAND — WORLD CHAMPION

How does that feel to be the the 2026 iQFOiL World Champion.?

“Unbelievable. Crazy conditions today, so I think everybody was on the limit. If I can speak for everyone, it was so much fun.

That first reach was insane … there was so much adrenaline. Then I had a really good slingshot around the downwind mark and I think I made a big gap there and managed to bring it home.

I’m super, super hyped.”

You had a pretty healthy lead by then, but you still had to keep pushing, didn’t you?

“Yeah, when you’re leading by a lot, the adrenaline is still there and you’re thinking, “Bring it home, bring it home!” But you still want to push.

I was super stoked.”

Noah was saying you were first around that mark and that was basically the moment you made the race-winning move.

“Yeah. To be fair, Nico did give me a bit of a push. I saw him tack and I was convinced he was underlaid, so I ended up getting a little bit closer than I wanted to!

But yeah, it worked out well.”

How was the whole week for you? Noah led for most of the way, but you were always right up there.

“Noah had a really good, consistent week. I had, to be honest, quite a hard week.

I think I had about 6 or 7 comeback fights! I had to come from around 40th back into the top ten because the guy in front of me started OCS, or I went the wrong way, or the rest of the group got a little shift.

It was really difficult out there, but it gave me a good bit of confidence because my conditioning and my strengths always brought me back. I knew I had the tools in the pocket for today.

We had raced in similar conditions before and I had a feeling I was pretty fast that day, so I was confident.”

And you’ve had quite a year. You’re now both European and World Champion…

“And don’t forget Palermo! I won there too, so basically three for three.

It’s fu**ing crazy. Super, super insane.

I think I’m also the first one in the class to win both the European and World Championships in the same year, so I’m super stoked.

It’s what I dreamed of – to be so consistent. It’s insane!”

It is about two years until the Games. Is this too early to be on this form, or is it a good place to be?

“I think I have always been in the top three, so that hasn’t really changed. But to always win like this, that’s a good change!

I don’t think it’s too early. It gives me energy and confidence in what I’m doing, and I believe I push incredibly hard compared with the other guys.

So I think you just keep on working on the same roads and things will fall into place.”

And we have to give some credit to your coach Kiko…

“Yeah, 100%. Kiko has been with me now for two years. After the Games I switched things up and we’ve been doing some good stuff together.”

What’s coming up next for you?

“More hard work!

First, a little break, and then I’m off training for two months. Then we’re off to Fortaleza for one more big event, and then we’ll do another one like this before taking a little break and working really hard next year.”

You’ve got to work hard to get the next title because this could be a very short-lived World Championship!

“Yeah, but that’s good. It keeps you on your toes.

I get about ten days off after this, then we’re back into strength and conditioning.

So, yeah, I’m confident we’re going to keep pushing.”

NOAH LYONS — SILVER MEDAL

Noah, silver medal at this World Championship after leading for most of the week. How does it feel?

“It’s bittersweet. I’m extremely happy with the way we sailed this week. It’s everything I wanted out of it, and I’m obviously incredibly thankful for the team around me.

I couldn’t quite bring it home in the Medal Race, which is unfortunate, but Luuc sailed a great race and definitely deserved the win. I’m just looking forward to getting back with my team and being grateful for everybody who has helped me get here!”

Tell us a bit more about that final race.

“It was an awesome one. I kind of started up at the boat, which turned out not to be the best move. Luuc nailed that pin-end start and just held it all the way.

From Mark 1, I was basically waiting for him to make a mistake, but unfortunately for me, he didn’t! That’s silver-medal racing.

But again, I’m super happy with the way I sailed the whole week, so that’s something to be proud of.”

So there wasn’t really a chance during that race to get back at him?

“Not really. From Mark 1, I was just waiting for him to make a mistake and, unfortunately for me, he never gave me the opportunity.”

Still, a silver medal at a World Championship in an Olympic class is an amazing result. Is this your first World Championship podium?

“Yes, it’s my first podium at a World Championship. I was also silver in Palma, but of course I’m incredibly happy to stand on the podium at an event like this.”

And with the next Olympics on the horizon, this must be a great result at this stage of the campaign?

“Absolutely. We have the pressure of the home Olympics coming up, so to achieve this this early on, we’re extremely happy.

It gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”