South Africa’s Joshua Fenn upstaged his much more experienced rivals while Spain’s Judith Verges Xifra broke through for a major career win at the ICF Atlantic Ocean Racing world cup in Lanzarote on the weekend.

20-year-old Fenn, the 2019 U23 ICF ocean racing world champion, proved too strong for the impressive international field, finishing more than one minute ahead of Germany’s Gordan Harbrecht, with South Africa’s 2019 ICF world champion, Sean Rice, almost a minute further back in third place.

26-year-old Verges Xifra, a silver medalist at the 2018 European championships and then again in last year’s Mediterranean Games, put on a master clinic to lead a Spanish trifecta in the women’s race.

Verges Xifra finished more than five minutes ahead of Amaia Osaba Olaberri, a bronze medalist at the 2018 European championships, while teammate Chloe Bunnett was just behind in third place.

Fenn’s win snared him the overall and the U23 men’s title, while 17-year-old Bernard Pereira from Portugal finished 15^th overall but was the first junior across the line.

Impressive Spanish teenager Sonia Deying Ma Li was the fifth woman across the finish line, earning her the junior title, while Paula Ruiz Arruti made it a clean sweep for the Spanish team by taking the U23 women’s title, finishing seventh overall in the women’s competition.

RESULTS

MEN

1. FENN Joshua               (RSA)  2:23:15  (U23)
2. HARBRECHT Gordan (GER)  2:24:44
3. RICE Sean                    (RSA)  2:25:37

WOMEN

1. VERGES XIFRA Judith        (ESP)  2:48:11
2. OSABA OLABERRI Amaia (ESP)   2:53:46
3. BUNNETT Chloe                (ESP)   2:54:32