MARSTRAND, Sweden (July 5, 2026) — Pauline Courtois of France successfully defended the Nordea Women’s Trophy on Saturday, while American Chris Poole reclaimed the GKSS Match Cup Sweden title, bringing an exhilarating week of world-class match racing to a fitting conclusion on the waters of Marstrand.
Racing in a brisk 16-knot westerly breeze with gusts reaching 25 knots, the championship finals capped six days of spectacular competition that featured dramatic weather, packed spectator hillsides and some of the closest racing on the 2026 World Match Racing Tour.
Courtois and her Match in Pink crew of Maëlenn Lemaitre, Laurane Mettraux and Théa Khelif produced another commanding performance to retain the Nordea Women’s Trophy, defeating Sweden’s Martina Carlsson and Beyond Racing 3-1 in the championship final.
The victory makes Courtois the first skipper in recent years to successfully defend the Marstrand women’s title and further cements the French team’s reputation as one of the world’s leading match racing crews.
Carlsson entered the final as the regatta’s form skipper after an outstanding unbeaten run through the round robin and semifinals, winning nine consecutive races. But Courtois’ experience, tactical precision and composure under pressure proved decisive as she denied the Swedish team a dream home victory.
Earlier in the day, former champion Anna Östling and WINGS Sailing secured third place with a 2-0 victory over Denmark’s Lea Richter Vogelius and WOW Racing.
Poole Returns to the Top
In the Open division, Chris Poole and his Riptide Racing crew of Adam Minoprio, Mal Parker and Luke Payne reclaimed the GKSS Match Cup Sweden title with a convincing 3-1 victory over Sweden’s Oscar Engström and Liros Racing.
The triumph gives Poole his second Marstrand title, adding to the crown he first won in 2024, after an impressive comeback through the knockout rounds.
Following a steady start to the regatta, the American crew gathered momentum at exactly the right time, eliminating defending 2025 champion Jeppe Borch in the quarterfinals before overcoming France’s breakout skipper Ange Delerce in the semifinals and hometown favourite Engström in the championship match.
For Engström, runner-up was still the best result of his career in Marstrand. The Swedish skipper thrilled local supporters throughout the week after topping the round robin standings, earning direct passage to the semifinals and defeating fellow Swede Johnie Berntsson to reach his first Match Cup Sweden final.
Berntsson claimed third place by defeating France’s Ange Delerce 2-0 in the petit final.
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The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series(Women’s International Match Racing Series) providing a global match racing series for female sailors. The name of the series was re-launched as theWomen’s World Match Racing Tour with its continued mission to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level. The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is the world’s first and only professional sailing series for women providing a valuable pathway for aspiring female world champions in the sport of sailing. See womenswmrt.com
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Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body –World Sailing – and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion. Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD24million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors. www.wmrt.com