Iachino Defends Foil Slalom World Title in Yokosuka

A catapult that swung the title race

Matteo Iachino went into the final day of the Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup trailing Amado Vrieswijk on countback. In the Elimination 2 semi-final he took a huge catapult that left his boom in multiple pieces and ended his race.

He finished tenth in that elimination and dropped to fifth in the event standings, six points behind Pierre Mortefon in second. By the time the Winners' Final of Elimination 3 began, the 37-year-old Italian still needed to win outright and finish no lower than third to keep the title. Countback favoured Vrieswijk, who held three second places to Iachino's four.

One last race, one final twist

Then the race turned before the start. Mortefon and Vrieswijk, both North Sails teammates, collided and were eliminated. The incident was described as virtually unheard of for Mortefon, who had not finished outside the overall top three since 2023.

Iachino seized the opening and won Elimination 3. The victory lifted him to third in the event behind Vrieswijk and Bruno Martini, and first in the overall ranking. The title was his.

A sixth crown, a decade in the making

The crown is Iachino's sixth overall world championship and his second of the 2026 season, after he won the foil slalom at Sylt in October. He claimed his first world title roughly ten years ago, then waited until 2023 for his second PWA title.