2025 Youth Sailing World Championships at Vilamoura, Portugal - Day 4

The 2025 Youth Sailing World Championships are all set for a thrilling conclusion following an action-packed penultimate day in Vilamoura.

Just a point separates the top two in the male/mixed 420 while USA's David Coates holds a slender two-point advantage with one race remaining in the male ILCA 6.

British pairs lead in two events - Lila Edwards and Amelie Hiscocks in the female 29er, and Sabine Potter and Merle Nieuwland in the female 420 - while Italy's Lorenzo Sirena and Alice Dessy are well placed to defend their Nacra 15 crown.

Irene de Tomas holds the female ILCA 6 advantage and the situation looks more clear-cut in the Formula Kite, with Gian Andrea Stragiotti and Suofeiya Li staying unbeaten at their respective summits.

Insufficient winds meant no iQFOiL racing was possible on Thursday, while the male/mixed 29er crews also saw their races postponed.

Male ILCA 6: Coates and Tomes split by two

The male ILCA 6 looks set for a thrilling conclusion, with just two points separating leader David Coates (USA) and second-placed Jiri Tomes (CZE) going into the final race.

Coates won the opener and finished fifth in the second race, taking him to 33 points, while Tomes stayed in touch with back-to-back second places.

Coates said: "It was much lighter compared to yesterday, very technical, very challenging conditions and they made the course a little shorter.

"I am very pleased with how I have adapted to the conditions throughout the regatta as it has been very different every day.

"The yellow bib doesn't mean much, I am just trying to keep my mentality the same. It doesn't matter what place you are in, you have to treat every race as you would whatever bib you have on."

Japan's Genki Kahara won the second race of the day, while Cyprus' Emilios Max Boeros sits third overall on 53 points.

Female ILCA 6: De Tomas six points clear

Irene de Tomas (ESP) remains top of the female ILCA 6 leaderboard on 46 points, following two 13th-place finishes.

The Spaniard said: "It was light wind, not what I expected, but I am happy with my results and looking forward to tomorrow.

"It has been a hard week but I am really happy with how I have managed to sail. I am a bit nervous about tomorrow but pretty happy.

"I want to sail happy and have fun. It is hard to stay calm with the yellow bib on but I just want to stay focused on every race."

Germany's Mirja Dohle is second on 52 points while Poland's Hanna Rogowska, who won the opening race of the day, is on 57. Czechia's Beata Dokoupilova won Thursday's second race.

Ireland's Sienna Wright, meanwhile, is fifth after being hit with a disqualification (DSQ) in race eight following a complaint by Dohle for an alleged infringement at the start line. Wright had initially finished up just a point behind De Tomas but is now 14 adrift of the medal places with just one race left.

Speaking before the DSQ, Wright said: "It was tricky out there, it was shifting left and right all day and it needed a lot of tactical awareness. Sometimes it was very stressful but I think I managed it ok. I feel great heading into tomorrow and it is a privilege to be in this position."

Female 29er: Edwards and Hiscocks holding firm

Great Britain's Lila Edwards and Amelie Hiscocks enter the final day with the yellow bib after two wins and a second took them to nine points.

They have a six-point cushion back to Poland's Antonina Puchowska and Alicja Dampc, while Argentina's Carolina Barcelo and Agustina Arguelles, who won the middle race of three, occupy third on 23 points.

Four races are set to take place on Friday in both the male/mixed and female events, with Poland's Szymon Kolka and Bartosz Zmudzinski leading by two points in the former following no racing on Thursday.

Male/Mixed 420: Spaniards win sole race

Just one race was possible in the male/mixed 420 and it was won by Spain's Pedro Sotomayor and Quim Serra de Pedro, who climbed to third as a result.

The Spaniards have 19 points, while the top two remain separated by just a point with three races scheduled for tomorrow.

Israel's Ziv Shtub and Loya Sheffler remain at the summit on nine points, just ahead of Ukraine's Sviatoslav Madonich and Dmytro Karabadzhak. Shtub and Sheffler finished 15th on Thursday, with the Ukrainians in 11th, but both results were discarded due to being their lowest finish to date.

Female 420: Potter and Nieuwland stay on top

British pair Sabine Potter and Merle Nieuwland won the third and final female 420 race of the day to reclaim top spot on 29 points.

They enter Friday's final race leading by six from France's Emy Combet and Juliette Peyre, who finished 12th in the race won by the leaders.

Nieuwland said: "It was really tricky out there, it was definitely light winds and pretty marginal sailing, especially in that last race, but we kept our cool and fought for every point."

New Zealand's Tessa Clinton and Amelia Higson are third on 39 points and Clinton said: "We will approach this more or less the same as we have the other days, we will keep it simple. It's a fresh day tomorrow so we will go out and try to win it."

Brazil's Melissa Paradeda and Antonia Gick had an excellent day, winning each of the first two races to climb to ninth.

Nacra 15: Sirena and Dessy hold advantage

Reigning Nacra 15 champions Lorenzo Sirena and Alice Dessy moved into pole position in their bid to retain their crown with three victories from four races on Thursday.

The Italian pair, who finished second in the only race they did not win, lead on 23 points, nine clear of France's Marius Praud and Emilie Mansouri with two races remaining.

Sirena said: "It was a great day for us, we finally managed to turn the momentum. We had good feelings on the speed all week but we were not catching up with the rest of the fleet, maybe because of tactical decisions. Today we were feeling better."

Dessy said: "We focused more on the details. We stayed calm and we are very happy."

Belgium's Lotte Meynen and Simon Jacobs sit third on 35 points after backing up two third-place finishes with a second in the last race of the day.

Jacobs said: "It was tricky out there but it was nice to be able to get towards the front in those conditions.

"We have been better than we were expecting going into this Championships, it is nice to be up there competing with the best. I'm excited to see what tomorrow is going to bring. We'll enjoy it and give everything."

Male Formula Kite: Stragiotti stays on course

Gian Andrea Stragiotti stayed on course to be crowned male Formula Kite champion as he extended his unbeaten week.

Five wins from five on Thursday have left the Swiss star on six points, 17 ahead of nearest rival Marcel Stepniewski, of Poland, with five races remaining.

New Zealand's Toby Wigglesworth is third on 24 points but the fight for the podium could be a close one, with 15 points separating second and ninth.

Female Formula Kite: Li stays unbeaten

Just as in the male event, the female Formula Kite standings is led by an unbeaten athlete with China's Suofeiya Li joining Stragiotti in going eight from eight.

She goes into Friday's final five races on six points, 10 clear of Great Britain's Emma Rennie, who enjoyed a second and two thirds among her five finishes.

Poland's Karolina Jankowska is just a point further back after three runners-up finishes on Thursday.

iQFOiL: Rajuan and Falcioni lead

No racing in the male or female iQFOiL meant no change to the leaderboards.

Five races are set to take place in each category on Friday. Israel's Peleg Rajuan has a six-point advantage at the top of the male leaderboard, while Italy's Medea Falcioni leads Tasia Stopchenko (AIN) by a point in the female standings.

Find out more at worldsailingywc.org