Sailors from the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 fleets fill two of the six 2026 World Sailing Awards shortlists, and the public vote counts for half.
It took Maria Giubilei and Gianluigi Ugolini twelve years of sailing together to win a Nacra 17 world title. Five months after they finally did it in Quiberon, Giubilei is a finalist for Rolex World Sailor of the Year. She is one of seven sailors from our classes on the shortlists World Sailing announced today.
Rolex World Sailor of the Year (Female)
© Sailing Energy / 49er and Nacra Class
Maria Giubilei (ITA), Nacra 17. Ugolini and Giubilei took an eight point lead into the final day in Quiberon and held it, finishing ahead of home crew Tim Mourniac and Aloïse Retornaz, with 2025 champions John Gimson and Anna Burnet taking bronze. A month earlier they won gold at the French Olympic Week in Hyères, beating Argentina’s Olympic silver medallists Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco in both finals.
Maria stated on her Instagram Account: “What an honour is this, and what a life I’m living
Thanks to all the people that helped me to reach my goals and that have always supported me.
But the biggest thank you goes to @gianluigi.ugolini , the person with whom I’m sharing this incredible journey!”
View this post on Instagram
© Sailing Energy / 49er and Nacra Class
Paula Barceló and Maria Cantero (ESP), 49erFX. The 2025 world champions came within a single point of defending their title. They finished level on points with Norway’s Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland, who won the last race to take the tie break.
That finish was close partly by design. The new finals format compresses the points gaps from the week, so the top ten boats go into the last two races with very little separating them. On a Quiberon Bay where the breeze kept shifting and rarely settled into a pattern, nothing was safe until the final gun.
Team of the Year
© Sailing Energy / 49er and Nacra Class
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush (NZL), 49er. At 21, they became the youngest crew ever to win the 49er World Championship, and Menzies the youngest skipper in the 30 year history of the class. They did it the hard way, slipping to ninth in the deciding race before fighting back for gold. In July they went to Eckernförde and defended their European title.
12 October, 2025
© SAILING ENERGY
Diego Botin and Florian Trittel (ESP). The Paris 2024 49er Olympic champions are back on the shortlist two years after winning Rolex World Sailor of the Year. They go up against Menzies and Lee Rush, Luna Rossa, 470 world champions Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris, and The Famous Project.
How to vote
Half of each result comes from the public vote and half from World Sailing’s panel of judges, so every vote counts.
Vote here: https://worldsailing.awardsplatform.com/
Voting closes at 12:00 UTC on Monday 2 November. The winners will be announced at a live ceremony in Qingdao, China, on Wednesday 18 November.
