Rasmus Maalinn from Estonia is crowned the new European Ice Sailing Champion. The 30-year-old secured the title in the DN class at the 2025 European Championships on Lake Pyhäjärvi in Finland. Maalinn won seven out of twelve races and relegated the Polish title contenders Michał Burczyński and Łukasz Zakrzewski to second place.
The European Championships took place last week in sub-zero temperatures and very wet ice. Despite the unusually difficult conditions, the organisers in Finland managed to hold twelve races in the gold fleet. The silver and bronze fleets each completed ten races.
Maalinn is the first European champion under the age of 30 since Michal Burczynski's triumph in 2004, ending a 15-year winning streak of Polish and American sailors at world and European championships. However, the young Estonian can also build on earlier successes. He has already won five junior world championship titles. The multiple European and world champion, veteran star Karol Jablonski from Poland, won the first race in very strong winds, but was subsequently unable to break Maalinn's dominance on difficult ice. Poland's Michal Burczynski secured second place overall with four wins on the day ahead of his compatriot Lukasz Zakrzewski.
German ice sailors also at the start in Finland
The best result from a German perspective was achieved by 37-year-old Andi Lachenschmid. He has already attracted attention in recent years with several top placings at European and World Championships. Lachenschmid finished the European Championships in Finland in a very good 26th place. However, the sailor from the Munich Yacht Club was not at the start for the last five races on Friday. A place in the top ten would definitely have been possible for him. The experienced Bernd Zeiger from Kiel also did not finish the series and ultimately ended up in 38th place in the gold fleet. Jost Kolb from Wendeburg near Hanover finished the series in a good 32nd place. Another success for Swiss sailor Ueli Marti: he had a very good series in Finland, finishing the championship in an excellent third place in the silver fleet. Click here for the rankings.
A total of 120 ice sailors took part in the European Championships in Finland. After the qualifying races and based on the current world rankings, the sailors are divided into three fleets, gold, silver and bronze, each with 40 participants. They start on a line with numbered starting places, depending on their current position on the current ranking list. The best sailors in the fleet start inside and therefore have an advantage because they can sail into the undisturbed wind. Those who can push their DN sled faster and run longer also have an advantage. The ice sailors wear athletics shoes with nails in the soles - cold feet included!
The photos in the picture gallery above were kindly provided by photographer Gilles Morelle. More photos from the European Ice Sailing Championships can be found on his Facebook page.
