2026 French Olympic Week, Day 3: Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn rise on 49er leaderboard as Kiwi iQFOiL sailors remain steady in Hyères

Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn made the most of the stronger breeze on Day 3 of the French Olympic Week, surging up the leaderboard and leading the pack of Kiwi 49er crews on the first day of gold-fleet racing.

The pair rose six places to seventh overall, finishing third in the opening race before backing it up with two further top-10 results as conditions shifted dramatically on the Mediterranean.

After two days of light and testing breezes, the regatta moved into stronger easterlies of more than 20 knots, with choppy seas and squally conditions placing a premium on boat handling and decision-making. Coutts and Gunn adapted well, producing one of their most consistent days to climb the standings in a fleet where mistakes were heavily punished.

Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn are the best-placed Kiwi 49er team, in seventh. Photos / Sailing Energy

New Zealand teammates Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan had a tougher day, slipping from third overall to 16th, but they remain within reach of the medal series with more racing to come. Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren sit fifth in the silver fleet after posting sixth and ninth-place finishes.

In the women’s iQFOiL, the New Zealand contingent continued to feature prominently. Under-23 world champion Stella Bilger moved into fifth overall across four races, while Aimee Bright recovered from a slow start with finishes of 11th and ninth to sit fourth, just two points ahead of Bilger. Veerle ten Have is 12th.

Stella Bilger had a standout Day 3 in the women's iQFOiL. Photos / Sailing Energy

Josh Armit remains firmly in contention in the men’s iQFOiL competition, holding seventh overall after another consistent set of results: 7, 3, 5, and 4, discarding a 21. Conditions shifted from light-wind pumping earlier in the week to physically demanding high-wind racing, testing both control and endurance. Eli Liefting is 12th overall, while Blake Hinsley moved up one place to 59th.

Greta Pilkington had her best day in the ILCA 6 fleet, moving up several places to 29th overall after finishing 11th in the gold fleet, while Nicola and Rebecca Hume notched their top regatta result with 15th in the seventh qualifying race, leaving them 24th overall on the 49erFX standings.

New Zealand’s men’s kitefoilers made a solid start to their silver fleet campaign, with Lukas Walton-Keim finishing fourth in the only race of the day to sit 22nd overall, while Lochy Naismith is 34th. In the women’s fleet, Lucy Bilger moved up two places to 17th.

Latest results and standings here.

Click here for live tracking of Day 4.