Nacra 17s @Palma 2025: Title for Gimson & Burnet

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All images © Sailing Energy / Princesa Sofía Mallorca

Official report by Nacra Class Assoc. Web: https://49er.org/trofeo-princesa-sofia-2025-wraps-up-in-palma/

Nacra 17: Surprise Finish in the Medal Race
54 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca 2025

The Nacra 17 class saw a shake-up in the final race. The Italian team of Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei had been leading the last half of the week with consistent sailing, continuing the strong legacy of Italian dominance in this class. But in the medal race, Britain’s John Gimson and Anna Burnet—silver medallists in Tokyo—snatched the win.

It was their first major title since getting married after Paris 2024. Gimson and Burnet had taken time away from the boat post-Olympics and used this regatta to reset.

Burnet said, “We had no results expectations coming here. We had a lot of time off after the Games. We knew we were going to be a bit rusty. We had some process goals we were trying this week and it has been a long regatta so good for that kind of thing.” Helm Gimson added, “We got some luck that made us look good. But we were certainly lucky it is our kind of conditions 8 or 9 knots, if we could pick a medal race conditions that would be it. And just the way it panned out we picked the right shift and the others fell away. The numbers worked out.”

Ugolini and Giubilei held on for second overall, while China’s Huangcheng Zhao and Su Sha continued their impressive rise by finishing third—marking the first time a Chinese team has made the Nacra 17 medal race in Palma.

Complete results here

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