The 24th FAI European Gliding Championships are underway at Ostrów Wielkopolski Michałków in Poland, running from 12 to 25 July 2026. Three classes are competing: Club, 15 Metre, and Standard. After three practice days, the championship proper opened on 13 July, with a rest period following before racing resumed on 16 July. Four tasks have now been completed, with a fifth called on 20 July but ultimately not flown to a valid result.
Task 1 – 13 July
The opening task set a modest Assigned Area Task for each class, run over a task time of 90 minutes given the short weather window available. In the Club class, Alexandre Fierain (LS3-a) posted the fastest speed of the day at just under 103 kph to take the win, ahead of Roelof Corporaal and Alessandro Bassalti. In the 15 Metre class, Marius Pluščauskas flying a Diana 2 topped the field at just under 106 kph, with Vladas Motuza and Thies Bruins close behind. The Standard class saw Lukáš Kříž take the day in his LS8 at just under 100 kph, with Norbert Alin Scarlat and Jan Kretzschmar rounding out the top three. Conditions were tricky enough that several pilots across all three classes struggled to complete the task, with speeds tailing off sharply through the field.
Task 2 – 16 July
After a two-day break, competition resumed on 16 July with stronger conditions and noticeably higher speeds across the board. In the Club class, Mikołaj Zdun (LS3) edged out Tomasz Rubaj by the narrowest of margins, both flying at close to 110 kph, with Filip Bojanowski completing the podium. The 15 Metre class produced the fastest racing of the championship so far, with Jacek Flis (JS3 Jet) winning at nearly 117 kph, just ahead of Łukasz Grabowski and Paweł Wojciechowski. In Standard, Jeroen Jennen (LS8) took his first win of the week at just over 112 kph, with Łukasz Błaszczyk and Miloslav Cink following.
Task 3 – 17 July
Task 3 was the longest and most demanding day of the championship to date, with all three classes flying tasks of just over 300 km. In the Club class, Alessandro Bassalti took the win with a strong finish at just over 101 kph over more than 320 km, ahead of Toni Kittler and György Gulyás. The 15 Metre class saw Łukasz Grabowski take his first win of the week at just under 110 kph over the full 308.73 km course, with Timothy Scott and Jacek Flis close behind. In Standard, the Brigliadori brothers dominated, with Sebastiano Brigliadori taking the win at nearly 123 kph ahead of Riccardo Brigliadori and Jakub Barszcz, all three completing the 307.61 km course at speeds above 120 kph.
Task 4 – 18 July
Task 4 brought shorter, sharper racing with task times reduced to two hours or under. In the Club class, Filip Bojanowski (LS7 neo) took the win at just over 100 kph, edging out Pascal Zollikofer and Roelof Corporaal, though the day proved costly for many, with a significant number of pilots failing to complete the task. The 15 Metre class was won comfortably by Rasmus Ørskov in a JS3 RES at just over 116 kph, well clear of Vladas Motuza and Marius Pluščauskas. In Standard, Jeroen Jennen took his second win of the championship at just over 112 kph, with Robin Smit and Łukasz Błaszczyk completing the podium.
Full results at soaringspot.com/en_gb/24th-fai-egc
