IWSA WingFoil Racing - Big breeze raises World Championship stakes

The wind thrashed down the Bosphorus to give us the most exhilarating racing yet at the 2026 Formula Wing World Championships, with Italy’s Maddalena Spanu winning four of the five women’s races to cut Vaina Picot’s lead to six points. In the men’s fleet, Francesco Cappuzzo strengthened his grip on the championship with three victories, while Poland’s Kamil Manowiecki climbed to third overall after thriving in the gusty conditions.

After two days of inconsistent breeze, the wind arrived in force on Thursday, averaging around 15 knots and gusting to 23 on the race course.

The stronger breeze immediately raised the pace of the competition and put greater emphasis on handling the powerful conditions. Several riders quickly changed down from 6.5m wings to 5.5m, with almost the entire Gold Fleet eventually using the same size wing — an unusual sight in Wingfoil racing.

In the women’s competition, all eyes were on defending champion Spanu. The Italian had been unable to match Picot’s remarkable consistency during the opening days, with the French rider having lost just one race before Thursday.

But the arrival of stronger winds changed the picture.

Spanu took the opening race and did so with a smile that had been missing earlier in the championship. She went on to win three more races, with Germany’s Jette Koep breaking the sequence in race two to claim her first victory of the competition.

“It was much more fun today,” Spanu said afterwards. “The conditions meant I could transfer so much more energy from the wing down into my board. Sure, there were still big holes in the breeze so you needed to keep your eyes open to avoid them, but on the whole it was a much better day for me.”

Spanu is now just six points behind Picot, although the pair have opened up a 20 point advantage over the rest of the women’s fleet and look almost certain to qualify for Saturday’s Medal Series. That means the fight for the remaining seven places is now the main focus of the women’s competition.

The men faced an equally demanding day as the top 20 began two days of Gold Fleet racing, knowing that only nine will qualify for Saturday’s Medal Series.

The stronger conditions produced close and highly physical racing, with a tight start line adding to the intensity. New Zealand’s Jeremiah McDonald said riders were quickly forced to adapt as the breeze increased.

“I’ve never seen so much gear damage in so few races,” he said. “Conditions were really testing the limits of equipment, especially in the early racing because we were all overpowered.”

The fleet soon began returning to shore to change from 6.5m to 5.5m wings, allowing the riders to exploit the stronger breeze and produce fast, adrenaline-filled racing.

Manowiecki was one of those who relished the conditions. The Pole won two of the day’s five races and finished inside the top five in all the others, moving him into third overall.

“There were so many crashes as riders fought with the breeze in that first race and I think I even heard a foil crack at one point, but it was awesome racing,” he said.

At the front, Cappuzzo was once again the man to beat. Three victories extended the Italian’s overall lead to 13 points.

Wearing the yellow leader’s bib for the first time, Cappuzzo admitted it came with some additional pressure. “I’m not used to wearing yellow, it adds a bit of pressure for sure,” he said. “But I’ll just go out there and do my thing.”

Behind him, the points are tightly packed and Friday’s racing promises a fierce battle for the nine qualification places.

You can follow the action live on the Wingfoil Racing YouTube channel on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 August beginning at 10:45 GMT, 12:45 CET, 13:45 Türkiye time.