Both teams lead their semi-finals 2–0 after another long and tricky day in the Danish heatwave.
June 24, 2026 – Middelfart, Denmark: As the clock passed 19:30 on Wednesday evening, the sailors returned to shore after almost 10 hours on the water in blazing sunshine and an extraordinary Danish heatwave.
The conditions had taken their toll on most of the teams, with sailors cooling off in the water during breaks or seeking shade below deck whenever possible.
The heat was also turned up on the racecourse, where the sailors once again showed impressive skill, despite all competitors being born in 2003 or later.
“We were definitely a bit fatigued today after a couple of long and warm days on the water. That caused us to make a few mistakes, but we learned from them. The current took a little while to figure out, and the pre-start ‘playground’ was right next to shore with very limited space. We struggled a bit with that at first, but finally managed to put it together against the British team,” said USA skipper Morgan Pinckney after his team’s 3–0 quarter-final win against Great Britain, skippered by Jamie Tylecote.
Pinckney and his crew then moved on to the semi-finals against French skipper Marin Micoulot, where the Americans continued their strong form with two wins before the race committee decided to end racing for the day.
“Despite the fatigue, we learned from the races against the Brits and were able to sail pretty quickly. We still made a few mistakes because of the long days in the sun, but we were able to recover and pull away. We are excited to go racing again tomorrow,” said Pinckney.
In the other semi-final, Daniel Kemp from Australia is on a roll after a strong day against both Danish teams.
First, Kemp secured a 3–0 quarter-final win against Victor Melchior before lining up against Mathias Rossing, who had finished second in the round robin.
“The breeze was pretty fluky this morning, so we were really happy to take the first win against Victor and his team. Then we were lucky to have a bit of a break and get out of the sun while the rest of the quarter-finals were decided before going back out to meet Rossing in the semis,” said Kemp.
“Both races against Mathias were really close, so we are very happy to take a 2–0 lead,” he added after a long day of racing against the Danes.
Thursday is the final day of racing at the Youth Match Racing Worlds 2026 – powered by Bunker One, and by late afternoon the new Youth Match Racing World Champion will be crowned in Middelfart.
The forecast for Thursday and final race day is the same as all other days at the World Championship in Middelfart this year: Light winds, plenty of sun and increasing heat.
Photos: Mick Anderson.