Maddalena Spanu wins the WingFoil Racing World Cup
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 6 Dec 2025 13:35 PST
2-6 December 2025
Maddalena Spanu and her golden year: she has won the European Championship, the Formula Wing World Championship, and now the WingFoil Racing World Cup © WingFoil Racing / Robert Hajduk
The final leg of the WingFoil Racing World Cup ended today with a win for Maddalena Spanu, an athlete from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's Young Azzurra program, who was also crowned WingFoil Racing World Cup champion. Vaina Picot and Aimilia Kosti finished second and third overall, respectively, in the World Cup and also in the leg in Brazil.
2025 has been a golden year for Spanu, who, at just 19 years old, has won everything there is to win in the WingFoil discipline. From the European Championship to the World Championship, to the World Cup, Maddalena has excelled in every competition she took part in, establishing herself as a leading WingFoil athlete.
"2025 was like living a dream. I never thought I'd end a year of events undefeated. Everything was incredibly perfect," Spanu said.
At the beginning of the WingFoil season, when asked what her goals were, she had replied, "To win the World Cup, where I finished second last year." She certainly couldn't have imagined the success she would go on to achieve, thanks to her drive to regain what she felt she'd lost the previous year.
Throughout the season, she triumphed in every leg of the WingFoil Racing World Cup—held at events in Morocco, Switzerland, Turkey, China and Brazil—establishing herself as the international benchmark in the discipline. Added to these successes are the titles of European WingFoil Racing Champion and Formula Wing World Champion, confirming her determination and consistency at the highest levels.
It was a week of incredible performances. Yesterday, the penultimate day of the World Cup in Brazil, Maddalena reached the finals with 18 wins out of 21 races placing her solidly at the top of the standings. The young wingfoiler needed just one win, which would have added to her two bullets, to secure the victory. This morning, a combination of tension and emotion was visible on Maddalena's face as she entered the water to compete in the Medal Race. At the starting signal, with great determination, she began her race toward the finish line, which she completed with great clarity, without a single mistake, leaving her opponents well behind.
"I still can't believe I managed to win the stage in Brazil and the World Cup overall to finish the year undefeated," says Maddalena. "I worked incredibly hard, and in hard times I told myself over and over again to never give up. This is my advice to all athletes. Looking back today at all the milestones achieved in 2025 it seems unreal. I want to thank everyone who made this possible from the bottom of my heart. Starting with my father, who is also my coach, and then my family and friends, the Young Azzurra program and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, World Sailing, the Italian Sailing Federation, the WingFoil Racing Class, my partners and everyone who has supported me along this journey. 2025 will certainly remain an unforgettable year, a benchmark for my future. Deep inside, I cherish the precious knowledge that you never stop growing and learning. I am only at the beginning of a long journey," Spanu said.
YCCS Commodore Andrea Recordati had these words: "We are extremely proud of Maddalena. Her talent, her dedication, and the results she has achieved testify not only to her sporting strength, but also to the values our Club promotes through the Young Azzurra program. Everything she has achieved in 2025 represents a well-deserved milestone for a young athlete who best represents the future of sailing."
The YCCS congratulates Maddalena on her exceptional year and encourages her to continue on her journey with the support of the YCCS.