Foil Slalom World Champion
Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Z Fins) started the season in blistering fashion as the Italian won every heat and all three eliminations completed in Guadeloupe to secure a dominant victory. After such a strong start, Iachino sailed super consistently in Sylt to secure second place, which included a further three bullets out of seven eliminations, which saw the 35-year-old claim second place to head into Japan with a healthy lead. Ever the professional, Iachino was never going to be complacent in the decider and he completed the season by qualifying for every single Winners’ as he earned the most dominant world title of his career thus far. After another great season, which saw Iachino also finish as the Slalom X vice-world champion, we managed to catch up with the Italian for an interview:
Hey Matteo, congratulations once again on achieving your third world title - where does this one rank / feel compared to the other two?
“Hey Chris! It feels amazing. I actually have 4 world titles now, 3x PWA and one ISWC. Behind the PWA titles there is a lot of work and that’s why they feel amazing. The first PWA title I won was in 2016. I remember it like yesterday, after many years of dominance from Antoine [Albeau] and Bjørn [Dunkerbeck], being able to be the first “new young rider” to win the slalom title felt absolutely incredible. It was the fin era, and it felt really unreal, a dream come true. The second PWA title came in 2023 and it was a mixed fin and foil one. After some years struggling to get the right setup to be fast and competitive on the foil and after many vice-world champion titles, it felt amazing to finally clinch my second title. This last one in PWA on the foil felt as good as the other two PWA. I worked so hard in and out of the water, on the gear, on the mindset and the results came. The more time you spend being ready for a result the more important that result feels and this last title felt just great. So now I am the only rider having one title on fin, one mixed fin and foil and one on foil slalom.”
This was your most dominant world title - how pleased with your performance over the season overall?
“I am really happy of how I managed to perform through the season. I pushed hard to get the best season opening possible. In Italian we say “chi ben comincia è a meta dell’opera” which means “who starts good has their job already half done” and this is how I wanted to start in Guadeloupe. I was pushing as hard as I could to secure a win and that’s how I started. We had the Slalom X in between with some amazing races and then we were back on foil in Sylt. By then I knew Pierre [Mortefon] was most probably the most dangerous one from the other riders. I focused on a solid result trying to control the race without risking too much and I gained some really good points in the overalls. At this point we went to Japan and I had a really healthy margin, but over there the conditions are uncertain and tricky. You can have an event with many eliminations, or an event with only a couple of races in marginal winds and in these kind of conditions anything can happen. In japan my focus was to enter every final. I kind of knew that if I was managing that I would have secured the title. It ended up I was the only rider entering every final of the season (maybe Maciek made it too) and this shows how focused I was on consistency.”
This season it looked like you were almost in cruise control making into the Winners’ Final with you not missing out on one the entire season - how much time, effort and tweaking goes into getting you and your gear dialled in to that level?
“As i said it takes a lot of time on and off the water to get the whole set of sails board and foils seated up to be on top level in every condition. I worked hard, probably spending even more time training than other seasons. Before Japan I was in Liguria where I grew up spending 2/3 hours per day on the water pushing my limits and then off the water tuning the gear.”
What are your thoughts on the changes for the 2026 racing season?
“I have to say I don’t much like the changes. I feel like the changes are being made by people in the industry who don’t really know much about racing and those changes will negatively affect our performance and travelling, but I cannot decide much as a rider, so I’ll take what comes and I will try to be again ready to win.”
After Japan you were headed for Hawaii - how was your trip / season going there?
“Well the trip went just amazing. I am now in San Francisco on my way back to Europe. We had 4 weeks of waves between wave sailing and surfing. Friends, sunsets, beers and waves are the perfect mix to have just after the season.”
When will you be back to full training mode to get ready for next season and what does your winter training schedule look like?
“It’s Christmas time now. We will enjoy it between Italy with my family and friend and Tarifa with my other family (Blanca’s). Then we will be back home in Tenerife ready to start to push again.”
Thanks, Matteo. Congrats once again on your latest world title. Have a great Christmas and Happy New Year.