San Pedro OCR delivered a thrilling conclusion as three pairs of Olympic-class sailors were crowned champions on the waters set to host sailing at the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Sweden’s Vilma Bobeck and Ebba Berntsson claimed the 49erFX title, Germany’s Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger took gold in the 49er, and Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson clinched the Nacra 17 victory after a patient, week-long climb through the standings.
The final day featured two short, high-intensity medal races for each fleet, with the top 10 teams returning to the inner course inside the breakwater. Although the compressed scoring system opened the door for movement across the standings, the leaders in all three fleets largely held their positions through the finish.
For Bobeck and Berntsson, the 49erFX crown capped a week spent steadily figuring out how to navigate the LA Waterfront’s demanding conditions. The Swedish pair entered the medal races in first and never surrendered their lead, finishing second in the opening race and winning the final race of the regatta.
The result marked an important milestone for a team that admitted to struggling early in the week to find their rhythm.
“It’s not been so easy,” said Bobeck, who began her regatta among the victims of San Pedro’s local stingray population. “I made some friends,” she laughed. “Or perhaps not!”
“As for the racing, there were some hectic starts and a bit of a war zone sometimes, but we learned a lot during our climb throughout the week. To win here at the Olympic waters means a lot.”
“We’re very happy,” smiled Berntsson. “It’s here we want to be at our best.”
The teammates credited improved starts and a simplified approach with turning their week around.
“We for sure learned how to keep it simple throughout the week,” Berntsson said. “We did not in the beginning.”
The simplicity paid off when it mattered most. With a 9-point cushion entering the Final, Bobeck and Berntsson executed a strong start in the first race of the day and used their speed to finish second. With the title effectively in hand, they returned to the course for the final race, won the start, and sailed to another commanding finish.
“We just enjoyed it. It was so much fun,” Bobeck said.
Behind the Swedes, Spain’s Paula Barcelo and Maria Cantero took silver while Great Britain’s Freya Black and Saskia Tidey earned bronze. Overall, the top five teams entering the medal races in the FX class remained the top five at the finish. With positions six through ten tied entering the Final, the compressed scoring introduced an intriguing opportunity for teams to attack the top five and make a run at the podium. In the end, however, there was no shake-up at the top.
In the 49er, Germany’s Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger delivered the week’s most consistent top performance, leading the fleet from start to finish. They entered the medal races in first and left them there, winning the opening sprint before finishing second in the finale.
The Germans built their advantage over five days of qualifying and never allowed the compressed scoring to erase their lead. Their consistency proved decisive.
“It’s race after race, and then keep it clean,” Rieger said of their approach to the regatta.
Behind them, Great Britain’s James Grummet and Rhos Hawes won the final medal race to move into the silver-medal position, while Uruguay’s Hernán Umpierre and Fernando Diz finished third overall.
Umpierre and Diz entered the final day in second but dropped a position after finishing outside the top three in the medal races. Even so, their podium capped a strong recovery from the middle of the week, when equipment problems and an OCS had dropped them down the standings.
In the Nacra 17 class, the Netherlands’ Willemijn Offerman and Scipio Houtman finished third overall. The Dutch team said they spent much of the week learning rather than chasing results, emphasizing the value of understanding the Olympic venue and experimenting with different approaches.
“Every day is just a little bit different, and recognizing what works and what doesn’t is an important lesson here,” said Houtman.
“The devil is in the detail,” added Offerman.
Their medal capped a week in which the Nacra fleet experienced some of the most intense racing of the regatta, particularly on the inner course.
Great Britain’s Gimson and Burnet finished second overall, completing one of the most impressive recoveries of the race week. After opening the regatta in second, they endured a difficult stretch that dropped them back to fifth, beginning with a UFD on Day 2 and ending with a DSQ on Day 3.
“I feel like we’ve been collected every letter in the alphabet,” Gimson lamented on Wednesday.
Determined not to let the penalties define their week, the Brits mounted a stunning comeback from Thursday forward, completing eight consecutive top-3 finishes. The work landed them back in second, positioned within a point of the leaders entering the Final, though the class title was ultimately claimed by Sweden’s Emil Järudd and Hanna Jonsson.
Järudd and Jonsson’s slow-motion ascent of the podium started with a third-place finish on Day 1. They moved to second after Day 3 and eventually took over the outright lead on the fourth day of racing. They entered Sunday’s medal races with a tight 1-point advantage over Gimson and Burnet.
The Swedes held their nerve. After finishing outside the top three in the opening race of the Finals, they returned to post a second-place finish in the last race, securing the overall victory.
“You really had to keep your head out of the boat,” said Jonsson. “Just try to fly high and go as fast as you can.”
“It’s the most intense teamwork you can imagine, which makes it really fun,” added Järudd.
The final day also highlighted the sportsmanship that has been a constant throughout the regatta. American 49erFX sailor Helena Scutt, racing with Paris Porter, attended the awards ceremony to support fellow competitors and cheer on their achievements, despite not finishing on the podium and without an American team among the medalists. Scutt had also attended the previous race week’s closing ceremony to support her friend and U.S. teammate Charlotte Rose after Rose won silver in the ILCA 6.
Across two weeks of racing, San Pedro OCR gave Olympic-class sailors their first extended opportunity to compete on the waters of the future LA 2028 Olympic Games. The six-day second week brought together 140 competitors from 20 countries, including 27 Olympians and 7 Olympic medalists.
For the sailors who will ultimately return to this venue for next year’s OCR and for the 2028 Games, the results will be only one part of what they take home. The conditions, start-line dynamics, and tactical patterns discovered across the race area and throughout the week will shape their training plans for the two years ahead.
Racing concluded Saturday, August 8. Event details, entry lists, results, and schedules can be found at sanpedroocr.org.
Generous support for the regatta is provided by Capstan, BP Home, American Marine, and the Pacific Environmental Corporation (PENCO). Race Committee and volunteer support is made possible with the help of World Sailing, Los Angeles Yacht Club, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, Balboa Yacht Club, California Yacht Club, Long Beach Yacht Club, and Newport Harbor Yacht Club.
San Pedro OCR is one of only two major Olympic Class events that take place in the United States.
