Two New Zealand windfoilers have made strong starts at the iQFOiL World Championships in Weymouth, England, with Veerle ten Have and Aimee Bright both breaking into the top 10 after the opening day.
Ten Have sits ninth and Bright 10th in a 70-strong women's fleet after four races, split between two upwind sprints and two course races.
Ten Have's day didn't start cleanly. She posted a 31st that will be discarded, then steadied with an 11th in the second sprint. Things clicked from there, with course races of ninth and sixth pushing her into the leading pack by the close of play.
Ten Have made her Olympic debut at Paris 2024, finishing in the top 10. That composure to fight back from a rough opening race fits a sailor who has shown she can handle pressure.
Bright's day was the more eye-catching of the two. She won the opening race of the championship outright, a strong statement given the size of the fleet. A ninth followed, then a 34th she'll be glad to discard, and a 17th to round out her scoreline, leaving her just behind ten Have on the overall standings.
At the top of the fleet, Israel's Tamar Steinberg couldn't have asked for more: four races, four wins. The reigning European champion has jumped clear of Germany's Stella Bilger and Norway's Maya Gysler early, with six days of racing left before Saturday's medal series settles anything.
The men's fleet had a different day entirely. Conditions weren't kind enough to allow course racing, so the men were kept to four upwind sprints instead.
Josh Armit, who sailed at the Paris Olympics, was the top-placed New Zealander. He finished just outside the top 10 in every race, enough for 43rd overall. Eli Liefting sits 62nd, with Blake Hinsley 64th.
At the sharp end of the men's leaderboard, Dutch sailor Luuc van Opzeeland, the reigning European champion, holds an early lead. It's tight, though: four sailors are locked together on equal points right behind him, with the regatta still wide open after just one day.
Racing resumes tonight, New Zealand time, at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy, with six days of competition remaining before the fleets are cut for Saturday's medal series.
