Consistency was the deciding factor when Maddalena Spanu claimed victory at the WingFoil Racing World Cup in Silvaplana, Switzerland. The Italian sailor, shaped by Porto Cervo's youth development programme, finished ahead of France's Vaina Picot and China's Yana Li in a Medal Race that turned on patience, nerve, and a pair of dramatic late falls.
The qualifying phase unfolded across three days of restless Alpine weather, with the shifting conditions testing every competitor in the fleet. Spanu moved through it all with quiet steadiness, posting three wins alongside seven second-place finishes and two third-place finishes across 15 races. That accumulated record earned her a slot in the Medal Race. Picot had held top spot on the provisional standings going into the decider, but Spanu's reliability across those 15 races proved what mattered most when the final result came through.
The Medal Race almost failed to start. Organisers held off the start for hours while the wind played games, and it was not until around 4.30 p.m. that the fleet finally got away. Even then the breeze remained difficult, swinging direction without warning and keeping the threat of abandoned racing very much alive. Li made the best of the start and led the way out, with Picot slotting into second and Spanu sitting third. Spanu kept her composure while those ahead wrestled with the erratic conditions, and her patience paid off when Picot lost her foil approaching the leeward gate and fell, dropping back. Spanu moved up to second and set off in pursuit of Li.
Then, just short of the finish line, Li also went down. Spanu crossed first and took the win.
"The wait for the Medal Race was long, and it required complete focus," Spanu said. "I went out determined to give my best. Vaina and Yana's falls were completely unexpected. The breeze kept shifting, so it was critical to make the most of what was there. When I crossed the finish line, I couldn't quite believe it. Pure elation."
The result adds another chapter to the Porto Cervo programme's reputation for developing young talent across Olympic foiling, wing foil racing, and offshore sailing. Spanu's win shows what sustained preparation and consistent performance can deliver against a world-class field, and New Zealand sailors following the rise of foiling disciplines will find the results emerging from that corner of Sardinia worth keeping an eye on.
