Two race wins on Day 3 of the regatta, and an eighth top-10 finish in as many outings have kept New Zealand’s top wingfoiler, Sean Herbert, on track for a podium push at the class World Cup in Urla, Turkey, and on course to avenge his narrow medal miss at the Europeans last month.
Herbert started the regatta well in the long-distance races earlier in the week and followed it up with two victories in a gruelling eight-race short-course schedule overnight (NZ time), which left him sitting fourth overall — just 8.5 points behind Polish leader Kamil Manowiecki.
Sean Herbert is fourth overall heading into the final day. Photos / Robert Hajduk, IWSA Media
Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Kosta Gladiadis has continued his impressive rise on the world stage. The young Manly Sailing Club sailor is just outside the top 10 after a brilliant series in which he has finished no lower than seventh in any race to date.
Jeremiah McDonald has also been consistent and will start the final day of qualifying in 16th overall, as the three New Zealanders continue to mix it with the world’s best in challenging conditions off the Turkish coast.
The regatta now heads into a decisive final qualifying day, with eight more races scheduled before the medal series. Riders are battling to finish inside the top nine overall and secure progression to the finals.
Herbert has looked among the fastest riders in the fleet throughout the regatta, after the opening day was lost to light winds.
The 2025 Yachting New Zealand Male Sailor of the Year mastered the demanding courses around Urla Bay, where riders had to navigate shifting breeze, long reaching legs and tightly packed fish farms scattered across the race area.
Kosta Gladiadis has continued his rapid rise on the world stage. Photos / Robert Hajduk, IWSA Media
Reflecting on his opening race win, Herbert said: “I had a good, clean start… just keeping it really safe on the first reach. I had a nice rounding onto the upwind and played the shifts where I could. I was on a small foil, only a 424, so I just had to keep myself in some breeze.”
Herbert’s strong downwind speed proved decisive as he reeled in Manowiecki during the opening races to briefly take the overall lead before the Pole hit back during the short-course racing.
After struggling to show his full potential during the light-wind European Championships in Naples in April, Herbert arrived in Turkey eager to capitalise on the stronger, more physical conditions.
“The last couple of years, New Zealand has had a bunch of athletes who have really got into wingfoil, and a number of us have come out of other foiling dinghy classes or dinghy sailing in general,” Herbert said.
“The goal over here is ultimately to be world champion. I’ve done it in some other classes, and I want to do it in wingfoil now. So it’s strictly business around here.”
The Kiwi narrowly missed the podium in Naples, finishing fifth overall — just nine points shy of the medals — and has once again established himself among the leading contenders this week.
Gladiadis has also backed up his standout European campaign – where he finished 11th overall and third in the under-19 division, missing the top 10 by a single point.
“We’re a small nation at the bottom of the world, and that makes it really hard for the Kiwis to get around the world, but when we do come, we want to show what we’re made of,” Gladiadis said.
“When I get back to New Zealand, I’m really keen to share all the knowledge I’ve learnt with the guys back home so we can step up our performance.”
Jeremiah McDonald in action in Turkey. Photos / Robert Hajduk, IWSA Media
Overnight, organisers threw the fleet into one of the toughest days of the regatta, scheduling eight short-course races in flat water and highly variable breeze funnelling through Urla Bay.
While Herbert remained consistently near the front of the fleet, a couple of lower-scoring races late in the day allowed Manowiecki, Italy’s Alessandro Tomasi and reigning world champion Mathis Ghio to edge ahead in the standings.
Latest results and standings here.
Originally published by Yachting New Zealand.
