A1R ATHLETES Make THEIR Mark at the First x-15 Worlds
A1R Academy athlete Holland Vierling won the U19 men’s world title in his international wingfoil racing debut, leading an America One Racing squad that reached the podium in four divisions at the inaugural X-15 World Championships in Ibiza, Spain. The November 4–8 regatta drew 107 riders from 24 nations, giving athletes from our Foiling Pipeline and Academy the opportunity to see how their speed and racecraft held up against an international field on one-design equipment.
Light wind made for a long week and a short race schedule. The senior fleets completed two races on opening day, and the youth and junior fleets waited until late Sunday to get another start. Vierling had already won the opener and, according to the X-15 Class recap, won all three of his races on Sunday to close out the series. “For me, this is my first international event, so to perform at this level is awesome,” he told the class.
Podiums and top tens across the fleet
Three A1R Foiling Pipeline athletes finished in the Senior Men’s top ten, with Kai Mirel taking bronze, Mala’e McElheny fourth and Maximo Nores tenth. In Senior Women, Dominique Stater finished ninth in her first wingfoil competition as she broadens her racing experience beyond the Olympic iQFOiL.
In the junior fleet, Foiling Pipeline athletes Harrison Doyle climbed from fourth after the opening race to take U15 silver with a win in the final race. Jet Ting finished tenth in the combined U15/U13 fleet and earned silver in U13. Sara Ortiz Vey, Claire Couvreux, Matthew Couvreux, Ethan Doyle, Oscar Melet, Likun Zha and Nicolas Sixto also raced with the squad in Ibiza.
What the squad brings home
One of the things Holland took away from Ibiza was how willing the riders were to share what they knew. Between races, athletes who were competing for the same places compared equipment measurements and helped each other work out how to make their foils go faster. That kind of exchange is part of what we want our athletes to experience through the A1R Foiling Pipeline and Academy programs. Racing internationally shows them where their speed and decision-making stand against a wider field and gives them ideas they can put to work when they get back on the water together.
Board foiling is evolving quickly, and Ibiza showed what we’re building for the long term. Through the A1R Foiling Pipeline, we’re working with regional programs across the country, giving more athletes access to high-performance foiling and a clear path from local training to international racing. Wingfoil may one day become an Olympic discipline; the work we’re doing now will prepare more American athletes to compete at the highest level wherever the sport goes.
We’re proud of the work the entire A1R squad put in to get to Ibiza and the way they remained ready to race through a week when opportunities were scarce. Congratulations to the X-15 Class, Club Mare Nostrum and the race committee on the first X-15 World Championships.
