2026 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championships: New Zealand's Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush begin title defence in first outing since world championship triumph

New Zealand's Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush will line up in Eckernförde, Germany, next week for their first regatta since being crowned 49er world champions in France in May.

The 21-year-old duo arrive in northern Germany for the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championships as the defending champions, having won last year's title in Thessaloniki with a day to spare and a commanding 35-point margin. That victory — their first major title in the class — has since been eclipsed by an even bigger one: a dramatic world championship triumph in Quiberon, secured in the closing metres of the medal race after a penalty forced them into a restart and left them fighting back from near the rear of the fleet. 

The result made Menzies and Lee Rush the winners of the two biggest regattas in the class since last June and the youngest 49er world champions in history.

Eckernförde will be their first opportunity to defend a European title as reigning world champions, and their first international regatta since Quiberon.

Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush on their way to the gold medal at the 49er World Championships in Quiberon in May. Photo / Sailing Energy

The 2026 European Championship for the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 classes runs from 7-12 July, attracting 194 boats and 388 sailors in total, a significant increase on last year's 118 boats and 236 sailors in Thessaloniki. Sailors from more than 35 countries are entered, from the traditional European powerhouses to nations including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Oman and South Africa.

New Zealand's challenge extends well beyond the world champions. Also competing in the 49er fleet are brothers Sean and Rowan Kensington, Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn, and Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren. Nicola and Rebecca Hume will contest the 49erFX, while Micah Wilkinson and Kate Stewart line up in the Nacra 17.

Coutts and Gunn, in particular, head into the regatta in strong form after finishing fourth in a quality fleet at Kiel Week last week. They also placed 20th overall at the world championships, making them the only other Kiwi crew to qualify for the gold fleet in Quiberon.

Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn finished fourth in Kiel. Photo / Kieler Woche

Kayrouz and McLaren, the former junior world championship silver medallists, also gained valuable experience at the worlds, competing in the silver fleet.

Wilkinson and Stewart, a new mixed multihull pairing, impressed with 11th overall in Kiel, recording five top-10 finishes, including a race win.

The Hume sisters also showed encouraging progress, climbing steadily up the leaderboard during the second half of the 49erFX World Championships to finish 35th in a fleet of more than 50 boats.

Switzerland's Joshua Richner and Nilo Schärer claimed the 49er title at Kiel Week, while Canada's Georgia and Antonia Lewin-Lafrance — the reigning 49erFX European champions — backed up last year's continental crown with a dominant performance. Great Britain's John Gimson and Anna Burnet, the defending Nacra 17 European champions, were equally commanding, leading their fleet from start to finish.

All three Kiel Week winners are entered in Eckernförde, with Lewin-Lafrance and Gimson/Burnet arriving as both reigning European champions and the form crews to beat.