Wearn in Gold Medal Contention on Return to International Racing
by Lisa Darmanin / Australian Sailing Team 3 Apr 13:05 PDT
30 March - 4 April 2026
Matt Wearn during the 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels © Beau Outteridge
In his return to major international competition for the first time since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Matt Wearn will fight for gold at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía, capping off an impressive week of racing in Palma, Mallorca.
The reigning Olympic champion has shown strong form throughout the regatta, positioning himself at the front of a highly competitive ILCA 7 fleet heading into the final series.
"I think we're exceeding expectations in a way," shared Wearn. "It's been a while since I've raced in a fleet of this size and calibre. We didn't really have any expectations of how it was going to go. We just wanted to get back in the boat and get back racing again, with the goal of the Worlds later in the year."
Australia's depth across the fleets has also been on display, with multiple crews securing places inside the top 10 heading into the final day.
In the 49er, Harry Price and Max Paul have been among the standout performers of the week, combining consistency with race-winning speed to sit in medal contention.
"This week's been fantastic for us," said Price. "We've managed to be inside the top five for the entire regatta. We've ended today a little further down the rankings than we've been throughout the week, but otherwise, performance-wise, we've been very happy with it.
The ILCA 6 fleet has seen a strong showing from both Mara Stransky and Zoe Thomson, who have navigated the challenging conditions in Palma to place themselves seventh and eighth a, with Casey Imeno just outside the cut in 11th, underlining the strength of Australia's women's single-handed program.
In the Nacra 17, Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown have also delivered a solid regatta, putting together a series of consistent results. Liddel described today as, "Pretty windy and wavy by the end of that session, we were kind of holding on for the downwinds."
The pair posted some solid results today, but a UFD (over the line early) disqualification has pushed them back into ninth overall. However, with a compressed leaderboard and strong winds forecast, anything can happen.
Beyond those inside the top 10, the broader squad has continued to build throughout the week, gaining valuable racing experience in one of the most competitive fleets of the year.
Unfortunately, Grae Morris in the iQFOiL had some gear failure today, which pushed him outside the top 10, and Breiana Whitehead also narrowly missed out on the cut in 11th place.
This will be the first major international test of World Sailing's new competition format. The revised structure begins with a Preliminary Series (formerly Qualification), fleets then progress carrying just their rank through as their points to the Elimination Series (formally Finals). From there, the top 10 sailors advance to the Final Series (formally Medal Race).
A key change sees the Final Series now contested across two single-point races, replacing the previous double-points medal race format used at recent Olympic Games.
Further adjustments compress the leaderboard and ensure tighter competition. No athlete can carry more than a nine-point margin to the competitor directly ahead or behind, while sailors ranked fourth to tenth cannot be more than 18 points adrift of third place.
In the board disciplines, the progression format has also been expanded, with the top 10 advancing through quarter, semi and final rounds, rather than the previous eight.
With leaderboard compression rules and a greater emphasis on final-day performance, the new format is designed to keep competition tight and ensure it remains all to play for.
Results can be found here.
Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (AS Squad), Australian Sailing Futures (ASF), State Sailing Performance Program (SSPP) and other Australian (AUS) results at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta:
ILCA 7 (199 entries)
1st - Matt Wearn (AST)
13th - Ethan McAullay (AST)
34th - Zac Littlewood (AST)
48th - Michael Compton (AS Squad)
55th - Lawson McAullay (AS Squad)
86th - Isaac Schotte (AS Squad)
138th - Alexander Bijkerk (SSPP)
49er (101 entries)
4th - Harry Price / Max Paul (AS Squad)
23rd - Jack Ferguson / Jack Hilderbrand (AS Squad)
36th - Otto Henry / Shaun Connor (AS Squad)
ILCA 6 (143 entries)
7th - Mara Stransky (AST)
8th - Zoe Thomson (AST)
11th - Casey Imeneo (AS Squad)
27th - Elyse Ainsworth (AST)
45th - Frances Beebe (AUS)
60th - Sylvie Stannage (AUS)
67th - Evie Saunders (AS Squad)
88th - Ellen Sampson (ASF)
103rd - Lili McAullay (ASF)
Nacra 17 (42 entries)
9th - Brin Liddell / Rhiannan Brown (AST)
19th - Ruben Booth / Rita Booth (AS Squad)
22nd - Archie Gargett / Sarah Hoffman (AS Squad)
24th - Jake Liddell / Niamh Meehan (AS Squad)
Formula Kite - Women (31 entries)
11th - Breiana Whitehead (AST)
iQFOiL - Men (119 entries)
12th - Grae Morris (AST)
25th - Rory Meehan (AS Squad)
65th - Phillip Crispey (ASF)
73rd - Jarrod Jones (ASF)
85th - Matthew Quinlan (SSPP)
49erFX (62 entries)
23rd - Laura Harding / Annie Wilmot (AS Squad)
48th - Brooke Wilson (ASF) / Evie Haseldine (AS Squad)
470 (64 entries)
35th - Sophie Jackson / Austin Cross (ASF)
40th - Sienna Brown / Ellis Merrit (ASF)
43rd - Ben Hinks / Fallon Katz (ASF)
46th - Alice Buchanan / Angus Higgins (SSPP)
iQFOiL - Women (70 entries)
45th - Anna Crispey (ASF)
50th - Sammie Costin (AUS)
Formula Kite - Men (56 entries)
45th - Oscar Timm (SSPP)