Team USA wins the Youth Match Racing Worlds – powered by Bunker One
After a week of intense racing in the Danish heatwave, it all came down to the last 200 metres in race five of five in the final. Morgan Pinckney, Kelly Holthus, Cam Spriggs, Jacob Posner, Alice Schmid are the 2026 world champions.
June 25, 2026 – Middelfart, Denmark: What a week! That is pretty much the general feeling among sailors, officials, event organizers, sponsors and spectators as the junior match racing world championship comes to an end.
A heatwave has made sure everything from the temperatures to the intensity on the race course has been close to the boiling point. Even though the 12 teams from 11 nations have been tested to the limit of their abilities and stamina, the race committee completed all 104 races despite the wind being light and shifty throughout the race week.
For the American team the victory did not come easy. After a five boat tie after the round robin, Morgen Pinckney and his team members – Kelly Holthus, Cam Spriggs, Jacob Posner and Alice Schmid – had to fight their way through the semis facing the strong French team, and then meet number two on the world ranking list, Australian skipper Daniel Kemp.
The final was undecided after four races, and it all came down to the last race of the series.
– Even though we got the start right, and the umpires gave Daniel (Kemp, AUS) a penalty, I got a little nervous on the first beat, and he reeled us back in. He got ahead and killed his penalty, then we got ahead just before the last windward mark and managed to stay in the lead until the finish thanks to great crew work – I am so happy to be sailing with these guys, said Morgan Pickney after their gold medal was secured.
For Australien skipper Daniel Kemp the silver medal was not what they had hoped for:
– Morgan gave us a penalty in the pre-start, but we managed to fight our way back. Even though we managed to do our penalty while we were ahead, Morgan and his fought their way back. So, right now the result stings a little but I am sure that we will be happy about the result in a couple of weeks, Daniel Kemp said moments after the last race.
– It has been a tricky week here in Middelfart with light winds and strong current. We didn’t sail up to our best in the semis, luckily we managed to get ourselves back into the game in the petit finals, and we are happy to finish with a bronze medal, Danish skipper Mathias Rossing said after the awards ceremony.
International regattas and events are import for Denmark and Middelfart
The championship is vital in order to give the future superstars of sailing an opportunity to compete and show their skills.
For the event partners, this sailing event has been yet another great opportunity to continue what has already been started with two world championships in Melges 24 and Women’s Match Racing World Championship back-to-back in Middelfart in 2015 and 2023:
– It has been a privilege this week to see the level these young athletes are able to sail these boats at and we are happy to be supporting this and other sailing events we’ve done together with GoSail plus our national and internal event partners. If GoSail gets to host more international regattas, we are more than ready to support future sailing regattas in Middelfar , Peter Zachariassen, CEO Bunker One, said moments before he presented the medals to the top three sailors at the world championship.
– The Match Racing World Championship in Middelfart underlines the importance of creating a showcase for the stars of the future. This week, the crews have had to make decisions in complex wind and weather conditions, with Mathias Rossing turning his home-water advantage into a bronze medal. That is exactly what makes international youth championships so valuable,” says Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark.
The newly elected mayor of the Middelfart Municipality is exited about the opportunities the newly renovated marina providers for this and future regattas:
– Middelfart has truly shown itself from its very best side in the middle of this heatwave. It has been fantastic to see the new marina come to life with thousands of people on the harbour, at the beach, by the bathhouse and along the waterfront in front of Sundhuset, where spectators have been able to watch the world’s best junior match racing sailors up close, says mayor Anders Møllegård.
– This is exactly the kind of life we hoped to create when the City Council, together with strong local forces, made the development of the marina possible. This week, we have seen how the area can bring together residents, visitors, tourists, sailors and the business community around an international event in the heart of Middelfart’s maritime setting, he continues.
The Youth Match Racing Worlds – powered by Bunker One – was the latest international sailing events hosted by the Danish sailing and event company, GoSail.
– We host between 200 and 250 events every year where we take non-sailors onboard our boats and teach them about sailing, communication and teamwork. International sailing regattas are our pedigree, and we would love to work together with World Sailing, Bunker One, Sport Event Denmark, the Danish Sailing Federation the municipality of Middelfart, our regional partner Destination Fyn and our local partners in more events, says Søren Mathiesen Laursen, CEO GoSail.
Results:
1. USA: Morgan Pinckney, Kelly Holthus, Cam Spriggs, Jacob Posner, Alice Schmid
2. AUS: Daniel Kemp, Isabella Holdsworth, Louis Tilly, Hayley Fisher, Lachlan Wallace
3. DEN: Mathias Rossing, Hanna Gaskell-Brown, Emil Wolfgang, Oliver Lloyd
4. FRA: Marin Micoulot, Camille Pfaff, Aristide Delin, Blanche Le Goff, Armel Le Carrer
5. NZL: Ethan Fong, Lucas Day, Hugo McMullen, Harry McMullen, Amelia Angus
6. GBR: Jamie Tylecote, Terry Hacker, Issy Leetch, Freya Pembery, Sam Osborne
7. DEN: Victor Melchior, Clara Bjørn, Mikkel Krogh, Simon Kaiser, Markus Graffe
8. SWE: Theo Westerlind, Charlie Allen, Will Platten, Marina Dryer, Robbie Upton
9. IRL: Daniel Copithorne, Matt Mapplebeck, Ciara McMahon, Jacob Collins, Dónal Walsh
10. SVK: Christopher Oben, Bryce Musto, Ricard Garriga, Camilla Svensson
11. JPN: Hiyori Sato, Haruki Furukawa, Kentaro Fujinami, Kiri Nakano, Hiroki Yamamoto
12. NOR: Philip Forslund, Emil Forslund, Eskil Ova, Sarah Skirstad Pollen, Julia Herje