USA 1 have been crowned 2026 Team Racing World Champions after defeating USA 2 in Sunday's final in Stockholm, settling the best-of-five series in a clean three-race sweep.
Alex Curtiss stepped ashore to loud applause. "It feels really good. We're all such great friends and have such amazing support from Newport Harbor Yacht Club. We're so honoured to represent the United States," he said. He was equally generous about the host club's army of helpers. "The regatta was incredible. To have 80-plus volunteers drop five days of their life to come and support us just makes us feel so much more special."
New Zealand were eliminated at the bronze medal stage, going down 2-0 to Great Britain in two closely fought races.
British captain Scott Wallis acknowledged just how fine the margins were. "It was really tough. New Zealand are very good. There were so many changes during the races and it could have gone either way. But we managed to win both races close to the finish line." None of the GB sailors from Royal Thames Yacht Club in London had previously competed at a Team Racing World Championship, making the bronze their first World Championship medal. Arthur Henderson, helmsman of the second British boat, took a broader view. "Now I hope even more nations will get involved in team racing."
The final day was sailed in stable westerly to north-westerly winds, the strength varying through the day. Across the full championship, 220 races were completed, 148 of them in the four main days of competition. A considerable logistical effort by the organisers at Gamla Stan Yacht Sällskap.
World Sailing event controller Steven Wolff was in no mood to understate it. "It's been a champagne championship. The conditions were amazing, the venue is amazing, the city is amazing, the volunteers are amazing. We got 220 races in and we picked a world champion. What more could we ask for?" Asked what he would remember most, he pointed straight to the people. "So many people were involved, doing work still on the dock. I think it's a real testament to the culture of team racing that so many people wanted to help."
USA 2 skipper Will Bailey called it "one of the most well-run and best organised team racing events that we've ever been to, nationally or internationally." GSYS project manager Magnus Myrenberg said the result had exceeded what he'd dared hope for, crediting race officer Annika Ekman, the volunteers, and a partnership with the City of Stockholm that went well beyond expectations. The city hosted the regatta dinner in the Golden Hall at City Hall, which, for a sailing event, is not the kind of venue you take for granted.
Denmark, knocked out in the knockout rounds despite seven wins, is already talking about a new team racing project and the possibility of staging a major event in central Aarhus. Japan finished 10th after two wins on the final day and left Stockholm with a clear sense of direction. "We learned many things from other sailors and other countries. We improved a lot here in just four days, rather than practising in Japan," their team said. They plan to keep pushing on the world stage.
The bigger question is where team racing heads next. Wolff is direct: "We're certainly hopeful in the team racing world that we can find a way to get into the Olympics." The shift toward two-versus-two racing has helped make that case, with fewer boats, simpler logistics, and racing that is, as Wolff puts it, "a little more exciting."
A World Championship returning after roughly a decade away, with ten-plus nations competing across both 2025 and 2026, points to a discipline that is quietly gathering pace.
