Spaniards Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona opened their 470 World Championship campaign in Enoshima, Japan, by claiming sixth place overall after navigating a tricky opening day complicated by mast damage and variable offshore winds. According to official reports from the venue, the competition finally kicked off on Thursday following a blank opening day due to a lack of wind in the waters of Sagami Bay.
Xammar, representing the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, and Cardona, sailing for the Club Nàutic Arenal, began defending their world title with a consistent display inside the top five of their fleet. The pair recorded a third, a fourth, and a fifth place finish—with the fifth currently serving as their provisional discard—leaving them tied on points with the Japanese team of Urabe and Tabata. Swiss sailors Yves Mermod and Maja Siegenthaler currently hold the overall provisional lead.
The 74-boat fleet faces an exceptionally tight leaderboard in the opening phase, where competitors are divided into blue and yellow groups to compress point margins among favorites. Just seven points separate ten crews overall, putting the Spanish duo only two points away from a podium spot. Their consistency proved vital on a day when Xammar and Cardona also battled a broken mast during the heats, forcing intense repair work on shore once racing concluded.
«We’ve completed the first three races of the Worlds in Enoshima and the truth is it’s been a good day for us. The conditions were difficult. We tried not to take excessive risks, but at the same time make our own way, which wasn’t easy, so we’re happy with these three good races», Jordi Xammar stated following the opening phase. Marta Cardona echoed those sentiments, noting that the team maintained clear priorities despite challenging offshore shifts.
Fellow Spanish competitors Silvia Mas (Club Nàutic Arenal) and Alejandro ‘Tano’ de Maqua (CN El Balís) experienced a tougher start on the water. The crew struggled to find early speed amid shifting land breezes and cloud cover that altered wind directions, finishing the day in 32nd place overall with partials of 18, 8, and a discarded 19. «Obviously, it hasn’t been the best start to the championship. Now we have to analyze exactly what the keys of the day were because we didn’t have very good starts», Silvia Mas explained, looking ahead to the remaining preliminary heats.
Championship Format and What Lies Ahead in Enoshima
The Enoshima event marks a major stop on the international Olympic sailing calendar, serving as a critical benchmark for athletes eyeing the Los Ángeles 2028 cycle. For Xammar, the venue carries strong personal history, having previously secured an Olympic bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games alongside Nicolás Rodríguez on these exact waters.
Competition resumes on Friday with two additional races scheduled in the preliminary qualification series. Once teams complete a total of five opening-round mangas, the 74 competing entries will split into Gold and Silver fleets to contest the final series, ultimately funneling the top performers toward the medal rounds.
