Eighteen-year-old Kosta Gladiadis has announced himself on the global stage in emphatic fashion, winning gold at the World Sailing Test Event in Gdynia, Poland, in wingfoil racing's debut appearance at the regatta.
Gladiadis, who sails out of Manly Sailing Club, produced the performance of his career in the medal series decider, winning the final race to snatch the title from teammate Sean Herbert and a fleet packed with world champions and vastly more experienced riders. Herbert claimed bronze, making them the first Kiwi pair to share a podium at this level of the sport.
It was a dramatic finish. Herbert had won the opening medal race to put himself in the box seat, needing just one more victory to take gold. Gladiadis had other ideas, powering past Ghio, Rattotti and Herbert in the final race to seal the title.
The two had both put in outstanding qualifying campaigns to reach that point. Gladiadis finished second overall after posting two race wins and finishing outside the top three just three times across 11 races, trailing only France's Mathis Ghio, a multiple world and European champion. Herbert was fourth in qualifying with eight top-five finishes, including two wins, before progressing through the semifinals with a second-place finish behind Julien Rattotti.
The bronze adds to what has already been a breakthrough season for the 24-year-old Herbert. Just days before Gdynia he claimed silver at the WingFoil Racing World Cup in Italy, the first World Cup podium of his career, after a run of consistent results that included fifth at the Formula Wing European Championships and back-to-back sixth-place finishes at World Cup events in Türkiye and Switzerland.
Gladiadis has been on a strong upward trajectory through the international ranks in 2026. He finished third in the under-19 division at the Formula Wing European Championships in Naples, broke into the overall top 10 at the World Cup in Switzerland, and defended his Formula Wing Youth World Championship silver medal two weeks ago.
Wingfoil New Zealand president David Gunn said the results showed where the discipline was heading. "Wingfoil New Zealand are excited about the future of the sport of wingfoil racing," Gunn said. "With Sean's recent World Cup podium and now Kosta taking out the gold medal at the World Sailing Test Event in Poland with Sean in bronze, it shows the quality of the talent we have here in New Zealand. The growth of wingfoil racing internationally is opening up alternate pathways for young sailors to jump into an exciting sport."
The result carries added weight given wingfoil racing has been selected as the invited event for the 2027 World Sailing Championships. The Gdynia event was used to evaluate competition formats and equipment options ahead of World Sailing's selection process for those championships.
The Gdynia double podium sits inside a busy fortnight for New Zealand sailing on the international stage. Just hours earlier, 17-year-old Chloe Turner claimed bronze at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece. Windfoiler Aimee Bright won silver at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta, held at the venue that will host sailing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. A week before that, Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley were crowned female under-19 world champions as New Zealand won the Nations Cup at the 29er World Championships in Germany, and Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush successfully defended their 49er European title on Monday, just two months after becoming the youngest 49er world champions in history.
