The 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels is the opening event of the Olympic classes 2026 Sailing Grand Slam series.
An impressive line-up of over 900 teams and more than 1,155 sailors from 62 nations – featuring 57 British entries – will compete at Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca, with the first racing on Monday 30 March completing on Saturday 4 April. Medal Races will be held over the two final days of the event.
The Sofia event is a major early season event for the British Sailing Team and more than 20 squad members will be competing.
In 2025 British competitors won a total of 9 medals – 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze – at the 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca and Britain’s Emma Wilson, winner of the Women’s iQFOiL windsurfing, was crowned outright champion of 54 Trofeo Princesa Sofía (top image).
That was an amazing turnaround following on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games which saw the worst Games sailing team result since 1996 . . . the British sailing team winning a total of just two medals – 1 Gold, 1 Bronze.
As we enter the second year of the 2028 Olympic Games quadrennial there is already a feeling of rising expectation as athletes return to top level completion, and start the long road to Los Angeles 2028.
As the first major Olympic classes regatta of the year, the Sofía has been chosen to test several changes proposed by World Sailing to increase excitement and appeal at the next Games.
Ferran Muniesa, the event’s technical director, explains: “The changes will affect race schedules and especially the Medal Race format: all classes will contest two finals instead of one, except Formula Kite and iQFOiL, which will continue with a configuration similar to last year’s edition. The aim is to ensure that any team reaching the Medal Race has a real chance of winning a medal.”
The Bay of Palma will bring together the women’s categories 49erFX, ILCA 6, iQFOiL Women and Formula Kite Women; the men’s categories 49er, ILCA 7, iQFOiL Men and Formula Kite Men; and the mixed categories 470 Mixed and Nacra 17.
Sailing Grand Slam Olympic Series 2026
SGS 1 – Mar 27 to 4 Apr – 55th Princess Sofia Regatta, Mallorca ESP
SGS 2 – Apr 18 to 23 Apr – Semaine Olympique Francaise de Voile, Hyeres FRA
SGS 3 – May 30 to 7 June – Dutch Water Week, Almere, Ijmeer NED
SGS 4 – Jun 20 to 28 – Kieler Week, Kiel-Schilksee GER
SGS 5 – Jul 12 to 19 – Long Beach Olympic Classes, Long Beach USA
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