Italy's Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio have claimed the 470 Junior World Championship title after a tense Medal Series that went right down to the final race.
Going into the last day, the Italians were level on points with the 2025 World Champions, Roy Levy and Ariel Gal of Israel. The French pair of Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel were also in contention, making it a genuine three-way fight for gold.
Levy and Gal started the Medal Series strongly, winning the first race, while Vucetti and Bonifacio finished fifth and Valade and Bunel came tenth. With one race remaining, all three teams could still take the title.
The second race proved decisive. Valade and Bunel crossed in second, Vucetti and Bonifacio in third, and Levy and Gal came home seventh. Consistency across the full regatta made the difference for the Italians, who also claimed the Under-21 title to give their country a double gold.
Bonifacio was candid about the pressure of the final day. "It was tough, it was breathtaking," he said. "In the first race we finished fifth after getting a penalty, but we recovered well. In the second race we had good speed and scored enough points to keep the other boats behind us."
Vucetti reflected on the uncertainty that lingered even after finishing. "We're feeling so many emotions. In the last race we weren't even sure if we had won because we had the same points as the Israeli team. It's a wonderful feeling."
Norway's Julia Jacobsen and Victor Loof were the standout performers on the final day, going third and first in the two Medal Series races to climb to fourth overall.
The fleet has little time to pause. After three days off, the junior sailors head to Nida, Lithuania, for the 2026 Junior European Championships.
