Scheidt And Sperry Crowned Star European Champions

29th August 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Robert Scheidt and Austin Sperry with the Star European Championship trophy at Medemblik

Star Turn – Robert Scheidt and Austin Sperry completed a perfect final day at Medemblik with two race wins to become 2026 Star European Champions. Credit: Matías Capizzano

Five-time Olympic medallist Robert Scheidt of Brazil and 2008 US Olympian Austin Sperry have won the 2026 Star European Championship after a dramatic final day at Medemblik in the Netherlands.

The Brazilian-American partnership won both of Saturday's races to overturn a tightly packed leaderboard and secure the European title on 18 points, six clear of Germany's Nick Heuwinkel and Jesper Spehr.

Italian pair Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi completed the championship podium on 33 points.

Final-Day Double Decides Championship

With the championship still wide open after five races, Saturday's first warning signal was brought forward by an hour to 11am.

A southwesterly breeze of around 13 knots produced an offshore and shifting racecourse, with a short, choppy sea for the 70 competing teams.

Race six proved decisive as rain fronts swept across the course and dramatically reduced visibility.

Negri and Lambertenghi led at every mark before slipping to fifth on the final run, while Heuwinkel and Spehr were effectively European champions at the final windward mark.

Scheidt and Sperry made the crucial move downwind, gybing early as the breeze shifted and surging through the leaders to take the race victory.

The result was enough to secure the European Championship with one race remaining.

"The German team pushed us to the limit, hats off to them," Scheidt said.

"In the first race they were ahead of us going into the final run, but we made the right call to gybe early as the wind shifted. Suddenly we saw the finish line in front of us and managed to pass five boats."

Four Wins From Seven Races

There was no easing off from the new champions in the seventh and final race.

With the rain clearing, the breeze increased from around 14 knots on the opening beat to more than 16 knots at the windward mark, with gusts reaching 19–20 knots.

Scheidt and Sperry rounded the first windward mark ahead and controlled the race to the finish, completing their championship with four victories from seven races.

Negri and Lambertenghi finished second, while Heuwinkel and Spehr took third.

The German pair's result secured second overall and the 2026 Under-30 European Championship title.

"It's been a great week," Sperry said. "It was incredibly close going into today, but Robert sailed two great races. Winning the European Championship like this makes it even more special."

Schoenherr And Wright Finish Fourth

After featuring prominently at the top of the standings earlier in the championship, Denmark's Jørgen Schoenherr and Britain's Ed Wright finished fourth overall on 39 points.

Jack Jennings of the USA and Australia's Andrew Palfrey took fifth on 47 points, ahead of Denmark's Michael Hestbæk and Jan Eli Gravad.

The championship attracted 70 teams representing 17 nations and produced a varied week of conditions on the IJsselmeer.

The international Star fleet now turns towards the North American Championship at Davis Island Yacht Club from October 24th–29th, followed by the Star World Championship at Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami from November 5th–14th.

The class will return to Florida in March 2027 for the 100th edition of the Bacardi Cup.

Top 10 – 2026 Star European Championship

Robert Scheidt (BRA) / Austin Sperry (USA) – 18 pts
Nick Heuwinkel / Jesper Spehr (GER) – 24 pts – U30 Champions
Diego Negri / Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) – 33 pts
Jørgen Schoenherr (DEN) / Ed Wright (GBR) – 39 pts
Jack Jennings (USA) / Andrew Palfrey (AUS) – 47 pts
Michael Hestbæk / Jan Eli Gravad (DEN) – 56 pts
Eivind Melleby / Christian Nehammer (NOR) – 59 pts
Max Kohlhoff / Ole Burzinski (GER) – 64 pts
Hubert Merkelbach / Markus Koy (GER) – 71 pts
Lars van Stekelenborg / Tim Rijfers (NED) – 73 pts

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The Star keelboat is a 6.9 metres (23 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1910.

The Star was an Olympic keelboat class from 1932 through to 2012, the last year keelboats appeared at the Summer Olympics at which Ireland's representatives were Peter O'Leary and David Burrows.

Ireland has performed well in the class internationally thanks to some Olympic campaigns including a bronze medal at the Star World Championships in 2000, won by Mark Mansfield and David O'Brien.

The boat is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a spinnaker when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker pole is used to hold the jib out to windward for correct wind flow.

Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are of fibreglass and carbon construction.

The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1,479 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft).

The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vang track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run.

Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hiking position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.