The 57th Semaine Olympique Française –second step of the 2026 Sailing Grand Slam– concluded yesterday under champagne sailing conditions. The ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 fleets competed in a week of consistent racing over six days, with conditions described as near ideal between the Giens peninsula and the Îles d’Or. The forecast westerlies arrived early, and on the final day the wind built from around 15 knots to 18 knots by the time the ILCA fleets launched, with a gently rippling sea state. A new format introduced two-race finals, increasing the pressure and producing notable shifts in the standings.
In the ILCA 6 fleet, the final results were:
- 🏅 Charlotte Rose (USA)
- 🥈 Eve McMahon (IRE)
- 🥉 Mária Érdi (HUN)
USA’s Charlotte Rose beat overnight leader Ireland’s Eve McMahon to take gold. McMahon, who had been the champion in Palma, went into the final races leading by one point. In the first final race, Rose finished second to McMahon’s third. In the second final, Rose placed sixth while McMahon finished eighth, allowing Rose to overtake her overall. This marked Rose’s second SOF title, having also won in 2024, and she managed the Finals effectively.
Hungary’s Mária Érdi moved up from overnight positions to secure bronze with a second-place finish in the second final, overtaking the Netherlands’ Maxime van de Werken-Jonker’s overnight lead.
“Going into the last race, my team and I played out the two races really well. I just attacked the race, I knew I was strong in these conditions, so, go with what I see and any chance to slow Eve down I did, and all the cards played out. That second upwind I knew she was in front and I was like, I just need to get my speed back and I made it happen; I tacked on the right shifts and once I was ahead I just kept going until the end and it all worked out – I’m really happy about it!
I’m going to wake up the next day and do it all over again and work just as hard. A lot of the processes that my coach and my team have been working on for the past year and a half is obviously paying off and we are just going to keep doing that.
I won here two years ago and Hyères is one of my favourite venues. Last year, I almost won and ended up fourth, the year before I wore yellow, so Hyères is my favourite spot and to come away with gold means a lot.” – Charlotte Rose USA
In the ILCA 7 fleet, the results were:
- 🏅 Matt Wearn (AUS)
- 🥈 Michael Beckett (GBR)
- 🥉 Elliot Hanson (GBR)
Australia’s double Olympic champion Matt Wearn secured gold, continuing a strong return after taking time out following the Paris 2024 Olympics. Behind him, the battle for silver between the two British sailors was closely contested, with Michael Beckett ultimately finishing ahead of Elliot Hanson by two points after the two Finals races.
Beckett had held an overnight lead and managed it across the finals, while Hanson came close in the second race with a second-place finish, but Beckett’s consistency secured him silver. Wearn controlled the overall outcome, finishing ahead of the duel behind him.
“Happy to be on the top step and show that it was a good week of racing.
I think the first race you’ve just got to go and race and try and win the race itself and then go from there, and obviously things sort of fell in my favour for the next race that I could just go and keep clean and finish the race basically. I was just doing my own thing. Not too dissimilar to, I guess, to a normal medal race if you’ve already won beforehand.
I think it’s like my 13th or 14th Hyères, it’s always nice to come back and it offers up a good range of conditions as well, it’s a good place to come and race!
You’re always having to work quite hard. But I’m coming back pretty fresh (after a year out) and I think that’s sort of mentally is helping me a little bit and the physical side of things is coming back quite nicely as well. All-in-all, pretty happy with where I’m at.” – Matt Wearn AUS.
Report by Agustín Argüelles – ILCA | Source: SOF – FFVoile | Photos by Sailing Energy.