Austria’s Hans Spitzauer and Christian Nehammer claimed the title of 2026 Star Eastern Hemisphere Champions after a dominant performance that also saw them win the District 17 Championship earlier in the week.
Two spectacular races in sunshine and a steady southwesterly breeze conclude the championship on Lake Balaton.
For Spitzauer and Nehammer, the title was effectively secured after winning the fifth race of the series. With a comfortable lead established, the Austrian team did not need to sail the sixth and final race.
Winner of the final race was Croatia’s Marin Misura and Tonko Barac, fourth overall.
The silver medal was claimed by Germany’s Daniel Fritz and Jan Eli Gravad, whose consistency throughout the week kept them firmly in contention until the final day. Fritz and Gravad are also the best U30 team in the Championship.
Fellow Germans Hubert Merkelbach and Markus Koy completed the podium in third place after a strong championship that included a race victory on Thursday.
The championship took place at the KÉSZ Group Balaton Star Sailing Week, Lake Balaton, Hungary.
Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship – Leaders after race 6, 1 discard (28 entries)
1st AUT 8529 Hans Spitzauer / Christian Nehammer – – 1 1 2 3 1 -29 – – 8 pts
2nd GER 8513 Daniel Fritz / Jan Eli Gravad – – 2 2 3 -4 3 3 – – 13 pts
3rd GER 8446 Hubert Merkelbach / Markus Koy – – 4 5 1 -9 2 2 – – 14 pts
4th CRO 8531 Marin Misura / Tonko Barac – – -9 7 8 1 5 1 – – 25 pts
5th CAN 8606 Ross MacDonald / George Iverson – – 3 4 5 7 9 8 – – 27 pts
6th ITA 8594 Flavio Favini / Sergio Lambertenghi – – 6 -12 6 2 10 4 – – 28 pts
7th SWE 8586 Tom Lofstedt / Nicolas Seravalle – – 5 -24 4 11 4 5 – – 29 pts
8th HUN 8579 Tibor Tenke / Miklós Bezeréti – – 8 16 -13 8 7 7 – – 43 pts
9th AUT 8414 Max Stelzl / Patrick Lang – – 7 8 15 10 11 10 – – 46 pts
10th AUT 8340 Stephan Schurich / Adi Lüzlbauer 13 3 18 5 8 -21 – – 47 pts
