Paul Cayard Wins Second Star World Championship 37 Years After First

Sailing legend and San Francisco native Paul Cayard won his second career Star world championship this past weekend in Split, Croatia, topping a 101-boat fleet. Cayard sailed with German crew Frithjof Kleen, who won his third Star title as a crew. Cayard’s sailing career needs no introduction: multiple Olympic Games, multiple world championships, involvement in multiple America’s Cups — his résumé is long.

Cayard won his first Star world title in 1988 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since then, Cayard has come close to the title, finishing on the podium multiple times. Most recently, he was third in the 2022 Star Worlds, and fourth in 2024.

Six races were sailed to decide the title in Croatia, with each competitor afforded one drop. Cayard and Kleen finished 10th in the first race, and then 35th in the second, a result that would eventually become their drop. The duo took control of the regatta in races three and four, recording back-to-back bullets to climb to the top of the podium. From there, they held on to the top spot with a ninth place in race five and a seventh in the final race.

Cayard and Kleen finished with a final net tally of 28 points, three ahead of Polish skipper Mateusz Kusznierewicz and his crew Bruno Prada with 31. The second-place boat tallied fewer total points than Cayard and Kleen (58 to Cayard’s 63), but Kusznierewicz’s being forced to keep a 15th-place finish after a 27th in race four proved to be the difference.

Per the Star Class’s official press release, Cayard and Kleen needed to battle back from rounding the windward mark in 14th in the final race in order to fend off the first three boats behind them in the standings. The duo battled back to a seventh-place finish, just enough to win the title.

“Big emotions for sure,” says Cayard, per the Star Class’s official press release. “You know, it’s really hard to believe. We made it very difficult on ourselves, and of course that’s kind of the way I do things. But we stuck together through the tough times. Every team here had to deal with challenges, and we had a few yesterday and today, but we came back because we sailed smart and trusted each other. It’s surreal to win 37 years after my first title. With a long career in sailing, America’s Cups, [and] round the world races, the Star has always been a constant for me. Winning it again is incredibly special.”