Spain's Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman have been crowned 470 World Champions. It was been five days of competition with varying climates in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The weather conditions on Sunday meant that there wasn't a medal race on the final day. 

The Spanish duo went into the final race with an 11 point lead. The Japanese were the fastest in the lighter breeze. The German team won twice in 14-16 knots, but the Spaniards' consistent performance throughout the week undoubtedly cemented their status as deserving champions. 

Nora Brugman, silver medallist at the last two Worlds, said: "We have won a lot of medals over the last few years but we needed to work on some areas to be strong enough to believe we could win gold. I'm really proud of this team and what we've achieved."

Xammar thanked his teammate and her coach, Juan de la Fuente, for their invaluable contributions to the success. "Nora is always pushes me to new levels, her commitment is never ending, and I'm so proud of her. And Juan makes us work harder than ever. He is the best," he insisted. 

Several teams from other countries are showing significant improvements in their performance. Vita Heathcote and Chris 'Twiggy' Grube have exceeded all expectations, including their own, by winning a silver medal at this World Championships. "What we've achieved this week is beyond our wildest dreams," stated Heathcote. 

Keiju Okada and Miho Yoshioka, who were the reigning World Champions from 2023, secured the bronze medal and expressed their satisfaction with their performance throughout the week. Yoshioka remarked: "We are happy with our performance this week and to win another medal is a great pleasure and honour for us."

The British team stepped up their game this week to claim the overall Nations Cup title, based on the best two results from each participating country. The British won a tie-break with the Japanese, who finished as the second best nation, and Germany in third. 

Andreas Kosmatopoulos, President of the 470 Class, presented the David Barnes Trophy to the winning Spanish team. Barnes, who died in 2020, is warmly remembered as a revered figure in the 470 Class and left a legacy. "As well as being an outstanding sailor, David was an innovator, a deep thinker, a great man," said Andreas. 

Dimitris Dimou, Executive Director of the 470 Class, praised Club Nàutic S'Arenal for organising one of the best events in recent years and looked forward to the swift return of the 470 fleet to the venue.