Italy’s Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio have clinched the 470 Junior European Championship title in Nida, Lithuania, capping off a remarkable season with back-to-back junior crowns. The duo secured the gold after two intense medal races sailed in heavy rain and 10–12 knots of breeze, adding the European title to the Junior World Championship they won just one week earlier.
Vucetti and Bonifacio were in commanding form throughout the regatta, leading the overall standings from the opening races. Consistent performances, impressive boat speed, and sharp tactical decisions saw them build a comfortable 10-point advantage heading into the medal series. They sealed the deal with two second-place finishes in the medal races.
“It feels very, very good. It was a tough week because I had some back pain, but we managed to keep the lead every day and even increase it. In the end we sailed two good medal races, finishing second in both, so we’re really happy with our performance this week and throughout the entire season,” said Vucetti.
“If someone had told me a month ago that this would happen, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. It feels amazing. We have great communication on board, good speed, we feel confident with the boat and the sails, and we simply trust what the boat is telling us,” added Bonifacio.
Medal race day dawned with heavy rain, making conditions particularly demanding. The first race saw an individual recall after several boats crossed the starting line early. The Croatian and German crews returned to restart correctly, while the British team failed to do so and received an OCS penalty.
France’s Lomane Valade and Julien Bunel won the opening medal race, keeping their podium hopes alive. The Ukrainian team of Sviatoslav Madonich and Yelyzaveta Vasylenko also delivered an excellent performance, finishing third and strengthening their position before the final race.
“It was a bit stressful, but we prepared ourselves well before today. We had difficult conditions with heavy rain and strong wind, but we sailed an amazing first race. The second race was super tough, we rounded the first mark well behind, but we managed to recover and secure second place overall,” said Madonich.
“It’s an amazing feeling. More than anything, I feel relieved that we did it. I’m incredibly happy and it’s hard to describe my emotions. This is only our second championship together, so we’re really proud of what we’ve achieved,” added Vasylenko.
“It’s especially important for our country at this moment. We’re proud to represent Ukraine and to raise our flag on the podium,” Madonich said.
The second medal race belonged to Germany. After finishing only seventh in the opening medal race, Amelie Wehrle and Riccardo Honold bounced back with a race victory that secured them the overall bronze medal, just two points ahead of the French crew. Despite finishing seventh in the final race, Madonich and Vasylenko comfortably held on to second place overall.
“We started the first medal race with an early start and had to return to the line, which was very frustrating. We tried to recover but could only finish seventh. Winning the second medal race was a great way to finish the championship, although it was a very hard fight. We’re really happy to come away with third place overall,” said Honold.
“Ricky was in charge of the upwind tactics, which allowed me to focus on steering and boat handling. Everything worked really well and we’re very happy with the result,” added Wehrle.
Both the new European champions, Vucetti and Bonifacio, and the Ukrainian crew of Madonich and Vasylenko won medals in both the overall classification and the Under-21 category. The Under-21 podium was completed by the French team of Swan Berier Joyet and Aïnoa Phillipe Sasiain, who finished 11th overall.
In the U19 category, the winners were Amelina Jäger and Caspar Fischer of Germany. Second place went to Simon Prot and Juliette Peyre of France, while third place was claimed by Maya Rotter and Jasper Hoschka, also of Germany.
The next stop on the 470 Class calendar is the most important event of the year — the World Championships in Japan.
