The British team of Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris claimed the 2026 European Championship after outstanding medal races. The silver medalists are Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini, and the bronze medalists are Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona.
"Well, I mean, it's just an incredible start to the year. I'm so happy that we put together the week. We sailed the best we could, and then to finish it off today - it's just incredible," said Bettine Harris.
"It was quite a long week. After yesterday, when we pulled it back and finally got into first, we were so happy. Today it was just nice to finish it off and start the year strong," added Martin Wrigley.
Saturday's racing started with an extraordinary win for the British duo. Wrigley and Harris crossed the finish line first in the opening medal race and extended their lead over the Italians and the Spanish. With a 7-point gap to the second boat and fourteen points to the third, the British had the win in the bag.
"It was very safe. We were glad to get a few more points after the first race. But we were really pumped, ready for the fight in the last race," said Harris.
"Well, we knew we just had to stay close to the Italians and make sure we didn't do anything stupid. And then in the end, we ended up doing something stupid and had a bad start. The conditions out there were really hard, so changeable. For a moment, it could have been bad," added Wrigley.
While the British crew was mostly safe for the win, with a 7-point advantage over the Italians, the battle for the silver medal was still on. Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini were defending second place, while Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona were in a difficult situation, with the Portuguese crew of Beatriz Gago and Rodolfo Pires close behind and putting pressure on both teams.
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