IWSA WingFoil Racing - Picot and Manowiecki on top in Urla

The final day of the WingFoil Racing World Cup Türkiye in Urla delivered some difficult racing under an unstable sky. Early morning rain threatened to kill the wind, but a building breeze allowed race management to press ahead. Following a minor 40-minute delay, racing got underway. Despite an early abandonment, the weather stabilized long enough for a rapid-fire medal series. In the end, it was a demonstration of clinical precision at the front of the fleet, with France’s Vaina Picot and Poland’s Kamil Manowiecki securing women’s and men’s victory at the earliest opportunity.

Picot makes few mistakes to win the women’s title

As the final got underway, the breeze began to drop, hovering somewhere between 8 and 12 knots. The marginal foiling conditions demanded maximum physical output, but Picot never blinked. She worked hard to stay on the foil and flew across the finish line in the lead, to claim the title in just a single race.
"I’m so, so happy about my performance," Picot beamed shortly after stepping ashore. "I won the World Cup in Turkey. So yes, during the grand final, I did my best, I pushed a lot and yes, I’m so, so happy."

Reflecting on the quick-fire nature of the medal series format, she emphasized how critical it was to execute perfectly from the first gun. "Yes, in one race, I secured my title. So yes, it was a quick end to the medal series. There is not much room for mistakes with this format.”

The young French star will have little time to rest on her laurels, with academic responsibilities temporarily overtaking her professional sailing ambitions. "Just before the World Cup in Switzerland, I have some exams, so I will train with my coach and I will do the exam just after," she said. "Tonight I will celebrate with my family, my coach, and other people that support me."

Picot was pushed hard all week by Italy’s Maddalena Spanu who finished a clear second, with China’s Yani Li in third.

Manowiecki triumphs through a Solo Physical Battle

The men's final matched the women’s event for its swiftness, but the tactical puzzle was entirely unique. Poland’s Kamil Manowiecki entered the final race with a clear playbook designed to minimize risk in the fading breeze.
Recognizing that a shifting wind profile could easily strand a rider off their foils, Manowiecki chose a demanding line that relied heavily on his physical conditioning rather than chasing tactical splits.

"I think that in these conditions, it's crucial to have the least maneuvers possible," Manowiecki explained. "Although the left seemed like it was in favor in past races, I knew that if I pump hard, I can still out-pump the wind change and get back on attack on the layline, or just below."

Manowiecki’s gamble turned into an isolated drag race against his own threshold for pain. "Fortunately, I was the only one, so that was a fight of my own, to motivate myself to pump all the way. I think I just slowed down, stopped pumping at the very top mark when I saw I had some advantage. So I decided to take my breath, lock in, and save the energy for downwind." The physical toll was massive. "It was only four minutes of racing, but it was a hardcore four minutes,” he grinned.

The victory makes up for a difficult start to the Pole’s season. "I really worked hard after the beginning of this season where in Hong Kong, I was leading the first races, first days, and then as I changed my gear, I'm still getting used to it," he admitted. "Today I took a bigger wing."

An emotional Manowiecki dedicated the gold medal to his team of supporters. "That means quite a lot, definitely. I'd like to dedicate it to my grandparents," he said, recalling a long winter spent training in Brazil, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. "After Naples, I had three weeks back at home, and I really made a great comeback with my family. Breakfast together, that really gave me the motivation to work even harder. In my home country, in Poland, we have a great structure. The Polish Sailing Association is helping me a lot, and here comes great thanks to Mariusz Goliński, who I train with most of the days, and not only on the water, on the land as well. He's my inspiration."

Behind Manowiecki, Italy’s Alessandro Tomasi took second place and the reigning World Champion Mathis Ghio in third with Ernesto de Amiciis of Italy in fourth.

Earlier in the day, the highly anticipated Golden Ticket long-distance race provided a lifeline for the riders sitting outside the top nine. The single long-distance race required total focus from the men’s and women’s fleet, especially after a chaotic first attempt had to be abandoned by the race committee.

The second attempt proved more successful and delivered great drama. In the men's fleet, Great Britain's Freddie Strawson faced an almighty challenge from France’s Romain Ghio, who suffered a catastrophic error at the starting gun, forcing him to tack immediately into dirty air. Ghio launched a ferocious comeback through the fleet, but Strawson held his nerve to cross the line just inches ahead.

Strawson advanced to the quarterfinals, though his drama wasn't over; his primary wing exploded during the ensuing shore break, forcing him onto a spare wing for the knockouts. On the women's side, Turkey’s Lavinya Sarihanlioglu claimed the women's Golden Ticket, securing her route to the quarterfinal stages.

Prizegiving celebrates the Future of Youth Foiling

The event concluded with the prizegiving ceremony in Urla. As well as honouring the top 10 men and women, the event highlighted the rapid global expansion of the discipline by honoring the next generation of foiling athletes. Medals were awarded across three highly competitive youth age brackets, the Under 19 (U19), Under 17 (U17), and Under 15 (U15) categories.

To see how the final day of racing played out, you can look back at the GPS tracking here: https://www.metasail.com/live/866/