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Seventeen-year-old Kiwi Kosta Gladiadis announced his arrival on the wingfoiling world stage with a silver medal at the inaugural Youth World Championships overnight, finishing second in a dramatic medal series after dominating much of the regatta.
Gladiadis, from Manly Sailing Club north of Auckland, has been New Zealand's top youth wingfoiler over the past three seasons and made his international breakthrough over the weekend in the Azores. WingFoil Racing crowned its first-ever Youth and Masters World Champions on Terceira, a volcanic island where unpredictable conditions provided a memorable test for competitors.
Kosta Gladiadis won silver at the inaugural Wingfoil Youth World Championships in Portugal. Photos / Robert Hajduk, IWSA Media
Gladiadis won seven of 16 qualifying races and finished inside the top three in eight others, topping the leaderboard heading into the medal race. Advancing straight to the decider, he needed one win to claim gold but was ultimately beaten by Italy's Ernesto de Amicis, who had finished qualifying eight points behind the young Kiwi and then won back-to-back races to be crowned world champion.
"It's really good to be the first youth world champion, the battle was really close and there were really good fights in all-round conditions, so I'm really pleased," de Amicis said. Czech sailor Stepan Benes took bronze.
The 17-year-old Kiwi topped qualifying after winning seven of 16 races. Photos / Robert Hajduk, IWSA Media
Gladiadis had previously won the New Zealand Youth Championships at his home waters in September, sweeping all 17 races, and impressed in Portugal by handling challenging conditions with skill and consistency.
His silver adds to a strong month for Kiwi wingfoilers. In late September, Sean Herbert claimed bronze at the Formula Wing World Championship in Sardinia, after marking his World Cup debut in Switzerland in June with the same colour medal. Days later, Herbert dominated the US WingFoil Championships in San Francisco, winning 14 of 15 races.
Final results and standings here.
