Stopchenko Sets the Pace in Varkiza

The reigning world champion takes the early lead in the U19 Women at the iQFOiL Youth & Junior European Championships, while Artun Şenol, František Burda and Parla Kabasakal head the other three fleets

Taisiia Stopchenko had to wait until the third day of the 2026 iQFOiL Youth & Junior European Championships for her first race in Varkiza, Greece. Once the U19 Women reached the racecourse on Tuesday afternoon, the reigning world champion needed only a few hours to move to the top of the standings, winning all but one of her races.

Stopchenko, who races under the AIN designation, is not alone at the front. Julia Przybył of Poland collected four race wins on her own opening day and sits close behind the world champion in the overall standings. With both sailors showing exceptional speed from the first start, the U19 Women’s fleet already looks like one of the most closely watched contests of the week.

The racing came after two days of difficult wind conditions. The breeze was slow to settle again on Tuesday, but late in the afternoon it allowed Upwind Sprint racing on both racecourses, and all four fleets competed for the first time since the championship began. Hosted by the Nautical Club of Vari-Varkiza, the event has brought together 290 young sailors from 31 nations.

In the U19 Men’s fleet, Artun Şenol of Türkiye moved into the overall lead. Kfir Nov of Israel and Leon Jankowski of Poland are tied on points behind him in second and third, keeping the top of the leaderboard extremely close. Moritz Schleicher of Germany, the recently crowned U17 World Champion, has chosen to race a level up against older sailors in the U19 fleet and climbed to seventh overall with a strong set of results.

The U17 Boys completed four races, and František Burda of the Czech Republic took the overall lead. Burda had already been among the early leaders after the opening day’s Slalom races and now sits ahead of Enric Patiño Riutord of Spain in second and Swann Manhaval of France in third.

In the U17 Girls, Parla Kabasakal of Türkiye won every race on the fleet’s opening day to take the early lead.

The championship enters a new phase on Wednesday, when the U19 Men and U17 Boys will be divided into Gold and Silver fleets and the leading sailors begin racing directly against one another.