Mallorcan sailor Karol Krupski sets his sights on the ILCA 7 Under-21 World Championship

The final series begin with maximum parity, on a day that once again tightens the overall standings with two decisive days still to go.

Spain is back at the top in ILCA 7 thanks to Karol Krupski, a sailor from Club de Vela Puerto de Andratx, who is tied for first place with Slovenia’s Luka Zabukovec, while Fernando Abella has consolidated his position on the provisional podium. In ILCA 6, Irene de Tomás has moved up to second place.

The ILCA Under-21 World Championship completed its fourth day of racing on Thursday, January 22nd, at Marina Rubicón in Lanzarote, now fully into the final series, where every point is becoming decisive in the fight for the world title.

The wind started off light on the Canary Islands racecourse and offered variable conditions throughout the morning, gradually settling at around 9–12 knots from the west, with current pushing in the same direction. These conditions once again allowed the scheduled programme to be completed, two races for all fleets, although they demanded very precise and tactical sailing.

In the ILCA 7 fleet, the day once again brought significant changes to the standings. Balearic sailor Karol Krupski (CVPA) reclaimed the provisional lead after the fourth day, tied on 30 points with Slovenia’s Luka Zabukovec, underlining the extraordinary level of parity at the top of the leaderboard.

Ten points behind the leaders is Spain’s Fernando Abella (CAR Infanta Cristina), who climbed two places to sit in a solid third position, confirming his consistency. Israel’s Reem Pulci and Italy’s Antonio Pascali complete an extremely tight ILCA 7 top five, just four and five points respectively behind Abella.

Fernando Abella, a member of the RFEV’s 2032 development team, highlighted the complexity of the day: “It was a day with lots of clouds, big wind shifts and different pressure, very tricky, where you had to keep your head up and anticipate what was coming. Patience and knowing when to wait for the right moment at the crossings were key. I’m really happy with the level I’m showing at this championship.”

Abella also underlined the overall toughness of the World Championship being sailed at Marina Rubicón, which he described as “very demanding”: “There’s quite a lot of wind every day, and your legs really feel it.”

Looking ahead to today’s penultimate day of racing, Friday January 23rd, the Spaniard explained his approach: “The forecast is for stronger wind tomorrow, so the idea is to keep going the way we did today, try to stay within the top 10, not add too many points, and keep an eye on what the rivals are doing so I can hold on to podium positions.”

Also worthy of note is the performance of Mallorcan sailor Tim Lubat, from Real Club Náutico de Palma, who is second overall in the under-19 category, while another Spaniard, Sergio García, sits in fourth place.

In ILCA 6, Ginevra Caracciolo has consolidated her clear dominance and extended her lead at the top of the provisional standings after a very solid day in which she was unbeatable, winning both races of the day.

The Italian now leads by no less than 31 points over her closest challenger, Spain’s Irene de Tomás. The RCN Valencia sailor and reigning Youth World Champion made one of the biggest moves of the day, climbing from fourth to second place and establishing herself as one of the main contenders for the title in the final stretch of the championship.

Irene de Tomás explained on her return to shore that it had been “quite a complicated day because conditions were very unstable. There were lots of clouds and rain, and the wind direction was constantly changing. The main goal was to keep your eyes wide open, read where the wind was coming in from and try to position yourself in the right place. Today the key was to be fast and get a good start. I managed to keep good speed, find my path and stay focused.”

Regarding the battle at the top of the standings, the Valencian sailor acknowledged the high level of the Italian leader: “The Italian sailor is really very fast, you have to recognise that. She has a boat speed that no one else in the fleet has right now.”

De Tomás cannot afford to relax, as Greece’s Hermione Ghicas occupies provisional third place just one point behind. Meanwhile, Adriana Castro (RCN Torrevieja) is now fourth, confirming the excellent performance of the Spanish youth ILCA team at this World Championship.

With the final phase under way and two decisive days ahead, the ILCA Under-21 World Championship in Lanzarote is reaching its key moment. Racing continues today, Friday January 23rd, at Marina Rubicón, with new races scheduled from 12:00 local time.

The ILCA Under-21 World Championship is organised by Marina Rubicón and sponsored by Turismo Lanzarote through its sports tourism product “Lanzarote Sports Destination”, the Cabildo of Lanzarote through its Island Sports Service, the Art, Culture and Tourism Centres of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the Yaiza Town Council, with the collaboration, among others, of the Canary Islands Sailing Federation, the Latin Sail Federations and DinghyCoach.