Poland's Piotr Cichocki claimed two world titles, while Britain's James Coxon completed his return to international sailing with multihull gold as the 2026 World Sailing Inclusion Championships concluded in Portimão, Portugal, on Saturday, 10th of October.
The six-day championship attracted 222 athletes from 40 nations, with racing across keelboat, multihull and vision impairment disciplines. Great Britain claimed the overall Nations Trophy.
The final day brought contrasting fortunes, with Cichocki confirming his dominance in the Hansa 303 fleets while Sweden's Fia Fjelddahl and Patric Rosenberg secured the RS Venture Connect title on countback after a dramatic final race.
Cichocki Completes Golden Double
As Afloat reported, Cichocki entered the closing stages of the championship chasing two gold medals, having established himself among the leading contenders in both Hansa 303 fleets. He won the Para Inclusive One Person Keelboat title after adding two final-day race victories to his score, finishing ahead of Germany's Jens Kroker and Portugal's João Pinto.
Only two points separated Cichocki and Kroker going into Saturday's racing, but the Polish sailor settled the contest with consecutive wins. He also partnered his wife, Joanna, to win the Inclusive Two Person Keelboat championship, adding two more race victories to finish 25 points ahead of Portugal's Carlos Santos and João Pinto.
Golden double – Poland's Piotr and Joanna Cichocki celebrate their Hansa 303 success in Portimão, where Piotr claimed two world titles, including the two-person crown alongside his wife. Photo: Gonçalo Melo
Korea's Mun Sungwon and Dongjin Yun completed the podium.
"I'm very happy that I managed to win gold in both competitions," said Cichocki. "The level of sailing here was very high, and the sailing has been fantastic."
The Polish husband-and-wife team will have an opportunity to defend their titles on home waters when the championships move to Gdynia in 2027.
Swedish Pair Win Final-Race Showdown
Sweden's Fia Fjelddahl and Patric Rosenberg survived a last-day challenge from Spain's Pau Toni Homar and Ramón Gutiérrez to win the Para Inclusive Two Person Keelboat title in RS Venture Connects.
The Swedes started Saturday with a ten-point lead, but a tenth-place finish in the opening race cut it to just two points.
The championship was eventually decided on countback after an Austrian boat overtook the Spanish challengers during the final race.
"Suddenly Austria was sailing so fast that they came in front of Spain, and we had the gold!" said Fjelddahl. "Thank you, Austria!" Spain took silver, with Norway's Stian Kristiansen and Elliot Finnestrand securing bronze.
The victory completed a memorable week for Fjelddahl, who also celebrated her engagement during the championship.
Swedish delight – Fia Fjelddahl and Patric Rosenberg celebrate their RS Venture Connect world title after a dramatic final-race victory on countback in Portimão. Photo: Gonçalo Melo
Coxon Leads British Multihull Podium Sweep
Great Britain's James Coxon won the Para Inclusive One Person Multihull championship in the Challenger class, marking a successful return to international sailing after competing in recumbent cycling.
As Afloat reported earlier, Coxon had established a commanding position in the Challenger multihull fleet before Saturday's final races confirmed his world championship victory.
Coxon, who has a rare form of motor neurone disease, had previously broken a world record in recumbent cycling before returning to competitive sailing. Three consecutive race wins on Friday put him in command of the championship, and a third place followed by another victory on Saturday secured the title.
Golden comeback – Great Britain's James Coxon (centre) celebrates winning the Challenger multihull world title in Portimão, ahead of compatriots Val Millward (left) and Bex Foulsham (right), completing a British podium sweep. Photo: Gonçalo Melo
"It's been brilliant. This is the first international competition I've done since coming back to sailing, and probably only the third event I've competed in since returning," Coxon said. "So it's absolutely amazing. I'm speechless. Very pleased."
Britain swept the podium, with Val Millward taking silver and Bex Foulsham bronze.
British Team Retains Vision Impairment Title
Lucy Hodges, Jamie Tylecote, Liam Cattermole and Steve Tylecote successfully defended Britain's Vision Impairment world title in the RS21 fleet.
The quartet led throughout the championship despite changing conditions and competition from Spain.
"It's been a lovely regatta, bringing everything – waves, chop, wind and no wind," said Hodges. "It's thrown everything at us all week long, so I feel really proud, and it's good to defend the title again."
Spain's Daniel Anglada Pich, Carmen Lopez Garcia, Jordi Sánchez Pérez and Monica Azon Canalda finished second, with another British team taking bronze.
Finnish Success and New Wingfoil Discipline
Finland's Marko Dahlberg won the Para Inclusive One Person Technical Keelboat championship in the 2.4mR, ahead of his son Otto Dahlberg and compatriot Rikard Bjurström.
Hong Kong's Tsz Hin Cheung secured the Para Intellectual Impairment title in the ILCA 6, while Portugal's José Campos won Inclusive Cognitive Impairment gold.
The championship also introduced seated Inclusive Wingfoil as a demonstration discipline. Light winds prevented final-day racing, leaving Britain's Charlie Wolf ahead of compatriot Jazz Turner and Vietnam's Truc Diep.
World Sailing CEO David Graham welcomed the championships' growth and the introduction of new disciplines.
"The vision of it is just going to get bigger and stronger. We're testing new disciplines here, and it's been a phenomenal week," he said.
The second edition of the championships was organised in partnership with Vela Solidária, the Municipality of Portimão and the Portuguese Sailing Federation, with support from the America's Cup.
