There’s always a sailor who just seems to be in the right place, in the right breeze, with the right mindset. At the 2025 Moth World Championship in Malcesine, that sailor was France’s Enzo Balanger.
Across a week of tricky Garda weather—some of it classic, some of it not—Balanger barely put a foot wrong. With 137 sailors from 25 countries on the start list, including a stacked roster of Olympic medallists, SailGP stars, and America’s Cup glitterati, even with the young French sailor’s dominating victory in the pre-worlds Foiling Week regatta, the odds of a repeat performance looked slim. But by Sunday afternoon, there he was Moth World Champion by a tidy 12 points.
“We’ve just wrapped up the Moth World Championship and I’m the new World Champion!” Balanger said. “I still can’t quite believe it. All the work has finally paid off – winning this title was truly a lifelong dream.”
The 23-year-old helmsman of the Orient Express Racing Team Youth America’s Cup squad came into the week with solid Garda form and led the event from start to finish. He started strong, scoring a 3–1 in the Blue fleet’s first outing in a heavy morning breeze on the opening day, and never really looked back. He won both of his final qualifying heats, and when the fleets split for the Gold series, he stayed on pace—third in the opening race, then another two bullets on the penultimate day in proper Garda conditions.
Even a DNF couldn’t trip him up. “I had a few small setbacks, but we managed to solve everything and stay focused,” he said. “The boat was fast, everything went smoothly—just amazing.”
Balanger wasn’t the only one with eyes on the prize. Behind him, the usual suspects had their moments, and Australia’s Tom Slingsby delivered a late surge to grab silver. It wasn’t the smoothest week for the Olympic gold medallist and reigning SailGP champ, who struggled to find rhythm early on.
“It’s been a great week,” Slingsby said after the final race. “I started slowly with a few issues, but I found my rhythm and managed to fight back. I gave it everything I had. Enzo was on another level this week—massive congratulations to him.”
Slingsby’s comeback was classic. On Day 5, he posted 1–2–5–9 across four races to leap into contention, and then closed out the week with a win in what turned out to be the final race. The weather didn’t allow for any more. Still, it was enough to jump from fifth to second.
“The level of the young guys in this class is incredible,” he added. “The future of Moth sailing is in great hands.”
Only Slingsby and his closest confidants will know whether to read anything into the 2019 and 2021 Moth world title holder’s final comment. Is it a clue that he is signing off on the Moth class? You could read it that way, but a second place after four years out of the class is hardly a shocker and the super-competitive Australian could well have a tilt at another world title – especially considering the next edition is scheduled for Perth in the winter of 2026.
Among the young guys Slingsby mentioned – is 21-year-old Jacob Pye from New Zealand. If Balanger was the steady force, Pye was the cool hand. He kept his head while others wobbled, sailing with maturity beyond his years. He posted 5–7–2–3 on Day 5, then took second behind Slingsby in the final race. That result handed him not only third place overall, but also the Youth World Championship title.
Second last year behind Matthias Coutts, Pye declared himself ‘really happy’ with his result. “I hoped to do well, but I came here without big expectations, knowing how strong the fleet would be,” he said with commendable modestly. “My start was a bit shaky, but I gave it everything and I’m thrilled to finish on the podium.”
His medal came despite a broken mast early in the regatta. “That was tough, but we got things sorted quickly and moved on. I think that helped me focus.”
Also in the mix for much of the week was Ryan Littlechild of Australia, who showed serious speed during the breezy middle stages. The Olympic 49er campaigner and member of the Australian Youth America’s Cup squad started the final day in second overall after a string of strong results—7–3–4–2—but slipped to fourth after a 10th in the last race. Still, it was a big result for the quietly consistent Aussie.
“Today was a beautiful windy day—probably the windiest we’ve had since the start of the championship,” Littlechild said after Day 5. “There was a lot of wind and the waves made the downwinds tricky. But I managed to stay on the foils and have a strong day.”
Germany’s Richard Schultheis also made headlines in the early going, stringing together 2–2 results in the Blue fleet’s opening races and staying in the top five through the qualifiers. He won his final heat before the split and looked fast in the flatter stuff. He eventually finished fifth overall.
NYYC American Magic sailor Riley Gibbs had a solid week as well, notching a race win in the qualifiers and hovering around the top ten for much of the event before locking down a creditable sixth overall.
In the women’s division, Malta’s Victoria Schultheis came out on top, finishing 41st overall. “I’ve just won the Women’s World Championship and I feel fantastic,” she said. “A special thank-you to Hattie Rogers [GBR sailor who won the women’s title at the last worlds and finished second woman this time in 46th overall] she inspired me to get into the Moth class.”
The week itself was anything but straightforward. Day 1 saw only the Yellow fleet get two races in before a thunderstorm shut things down. Day 2 was a wash after thunderstorms put paid to any chances of Garda’s famous thermal winds. Day 3 brought a big morning breeze, enough for some full-throttle foiling and boat damage throughout the fleet – including Pye’s busted mast. By Day 4, the fleets had finally raced enough to split, and the first Gold Fleet race was held before yet another weather system rolled through and forced the fleets ashore once more.
Day 5 was the gold mine: four full Gold Fleet races in a building Ora wind and a proper Garda chop. That was when the championship really came alive, and where Balanger made his biggest statement with a 4,1,DNF,1 scoreline. Day 6, the final day, was another Garda curveball. Light northerly in the morning, and then… nothing. One race and done. But that one race confirmed everything. Slingsby won it, Pye was second, Jensen third, and Balanger cruised home in fourth to lock it up.
At the prizegiving, Fraglia Vela Malcesine president Marco Carletto summed it up: “This week we hosted an event of the highest sporting calibre. The Moth World Championship brought 137 of the world’s best sailors to Malcesine, and watching them race on our home waters was a spectacular sight.”
The young Frenchman at the top of the podium would likely agree.
“Huge thanks to my whole team for their incredible support and work,” Balanger said. “I want to thank my sponsors, my girlfriend Lou, my coach, and everyone who supported me throughout the week. And of course, Lake Garda!”
A stunning performance and a well earned world title. What comes next for the young Frenchman only time will tell. But it seems likely his phone will be ringing off the hook at some point this week.
