Olympic champion Bontus shines in front of Mallorca: Formula in Formula Kite!

Olympic champion Bontus shines in front of Mallorca: Formula in Formula Kite!

Palma de Mallorca, Spanien - On April 4, 2025, Olympic champion Valentin Bontus goes second to the grand finale of the Formula Kite at the prestigious sailing regatta "Trofeo Princesa Sofia" ahead of Palma de Mallorca. This event is the first Grand Slam event of the year, and Bontus already has a place among the top four athletes.

In an exciting qualification round, Bontus showed remarkable achievements before saving himself the quarter and semi-finals with a direct qualification on Saturday. During the competition, there was an interruption of several hours due to doldrums that influenced the result of the qualification. Despite these difficulties, Bontus managed to successfully claim his second place and now focus on the upcoming final.

Current placements in the other classes

The other Austrian teams also showed convincing services. Laura Farese and Matthäus Zöchling took fourth place in front of the Nacra 17-class medal race. Lukas Haberl and Clara Stamminger are in eleventh place, while the 49-duo Keanu Prettner and Jakob Flachberger occupied twelfth place.

Maximilian Maeder from Singapore presented himself in excellent form and ended the opening series as the best participant. He has contributed to the excitement of the competition and will certainly be a serious competitor in the final.

The importance of sailing at the Olympic Games

sailing has always been part of the Olympic Games and was first played in Paris in 1900 after the competition was canceled in 1896 due to bad weather. There are currently eight different sailing competitions divided into boat classes: three for men, three for women and two mixed classes. Since the games in Seoul in 1988, competitions for women have been integrated into the Olympic process.

Windsurf, which became Olympic in Los Angeles in 1984, is not viewed by the International Olympic Committee as an independent sport, but as a form of competition within sailing. This shows how versatile and dynamically the sport of sailing has grown over time and remains.

The final that will be planned for the coming days in Mallorca promises exciting competitions and will certainly attract numerous spectators. The performance of the athletes, especially Bontus and his teammates, are pursued with particular interest.