Portimão will host sailors from around the world in October, when the 2026 World Sailing Inclusion Championships bring together Paralympic champions, seasoned internationals and a wave of sailors making their first steps onto the world stage.
There's a Kiwi thread running through the entry list too. Xervier Doney will compete in the Inclusive Two-Person Keelboat alongside his father, Paul, having come through the Australia IDP programme in 2025 as an Intellectual Impairment sailor. It's a meaningful step for New Zealand, from a development camp last year to a World Championship start line this October.
The Para Inclusive One-Person Keelboat World Championship, sailed in the Hansa 303, brings some familiar faces back to the front of the fleet. Piotr Cichocki of Poland, Germany's Jens Kroker, France's Gauthier Bril and Rory McKinna of Great Britain will all be worth watching.
Further down the entry list, the story turns to reach rather than results. Zaida Perez Bugueño of Chile has progressed through World Sailing's Inclusive Development Programme since taking part in a camp around The Hague back in 2023. Barbados' Daniel McCollin has come through more recently still, stepping up from the Antigua IDP earlier this year straight into World Championship company.
China's Jingkun "Jackie" Xu arrives with an unusual sailing pedigree, an offshore and Vendée sailor by background. Chi-Chian Wu of Chinese Taipei returns too, and will also sail in the Performance IDP while in Portimão. India and Korea both come back with multiple Hansa 303 entries, evidence that development investment is starting to show up as sustained participation.
The two-person fleet, racing the RS Venture Connect, mixes established quality with fresh faces. Great Britain, France and hosts Portugal all field strong crews.
Maureen McKinnon of the United States is perhaps the standout name. A Paralympic gold medallist in the SKUD18, she returns to international two-person racing alongside Shan McAdoo.
Thailand's Tanat Upatising and Tammachat Sriopas have progressed through the IDP held in India in August. Jamaica joins the fleet off the back of the Antigua IDP. Ukraine will also be represented, through work done with the Superhumans Center.
The Challenger makes its championship debut in the new Para Inclusive One-Person Multihull World Championship. Russell Vollmer of South Africa, a veteran of the Paralympic-era 2.4mR, returns to competition in the class. Trinidad & Tobago, India and Vietnam round out a fleet that opens another door for developing Para programmes.
The 2.4mR fleet in the One-Person Technical Championship carries plenty of pedigree of its own, headed by Finland's Niko Salomaa and American John Seepe among a genuinely international line-up.
The bigger leap happens above the water.
Para Inclusive WingFoil joins as a demonstration discipline this year, bringing one of sailing's fastest-growing formats into the Para Inclusive fold. Australian Sailing and World Sailing have worked with athletes, coaches and equipment specialists to shape it. France's Guillaume Colin, who has experience from Défi Wing, has been central to that process, alongside Australia's Simon Bibby and Britain's Jazz Turner.
Entries already span Australia, France, Great Britain, Germany, India, Italy, Trinidad & Tobago and Vietnam. There's no form book yet. Portimão will effectively let the sailors write it themselves.
Elsewhere, the Intellectual Impairment and Cognitive Impairment programme continues testing accessible racing formats. Hong Kong, China returns with Ho Tin Lam and Tsz Hin Cheung, joined by sailors from St Kitts & Nevis and Trinidad & Tobago. Britain's Murray McDonald will return looking to defend his titles.
In the Vision Impaired Keelboat World Championship, Spain's Dani Anglada Pich and Britain's Lucy Hodges remain two of the most experienced voices in the discipline, both having helped grow VI sailing internationally. Racing will be held in the RS21 for the first time.
From returning Paralympians to first-time IDP graduates, the Portimão fleet captures a sport in transition, one eye on its history, the other firmly on what comes next.
