The 56th Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères, will take place from 19 to 26 April, with 800 athletes expected at the Sailing Grand Slam.
Following their amazing turn around at the first of this season’s SGS events – the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca – which saw British Sailing Team (BST) members win a total of 9 medals, including 5 Gold.
And despite there being three years to the next Games, the BST will want to show that they are able to maintain this dramatic improvement, especially if the weather takes a turn to 2024 Olympic type conditions . . . identified as the culprit for the poor Paris 2024 performance.
Most of the Sofia medal winning competitors are taking part in the Semaine Olympique Française. With medal winning British competitors; Gimson and Burnet Nacra17, Wrigley and Harris 470, Black and Tidey 49erFX, Emma Wilson iQFoil, Daisy Collingridge ILCA6 and Lily Young Formula Kite, expected to compete in Hyeres.
The recent confirmation by the IOC of the existing ten sailing events for LA28 would have been considerable relief for World Sailing. Any suggestion of change plunges the sailing world body into chaos, with considerable in-fighting as classes manoeuvre to gain or retain a prestigious Olympic place.
Such disruption and perceived lack of competence not being well received by the International Olympic Committee, with the ever-present threat of the IOC losing patience and dumping the sport . . . as it did with Para Sailing after 2016.
The Semaine Olympique Française is the second event (of five) of the 2025 Sailing Grand Slam series. Each with the goal of offering the best conditions for an Olympic class sailor to prepare for the Olympics, in this case the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The 2025 SGS series includes:
- Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia – Mallorca, Spain
- Semaine Olympique Française – Hyères, France
- Dutch Water Week – Almere, Netherlands
- Kieler Woche – Kiel, Germany
- Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta – Long Beach, USA
Associated Articles:
Trofeo Princesa Sofía – 9 medal haul – 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze for GBR
New Olmpic Classes ‘Sailing Grand Slam Regattas’ to raise Olympic sailing’s profile
