Julia Castro and Manel Arpa return to podium in Munich foil World Cup

Spain left Munich with another clear sign that its foil program is becoming a standard rather than a surprise. Julia Castro and Manel Arpa both reached the podium at the SFT E-Foil & Pump Foil World Cup at the Olympic Rowing Stadium, each finishing third and extending the momentum they had already built earlier in the season in Morocco.

Castro’s third in the women’s e-foil race carried extra weight because it followed a second-place finish in Nador, Morocco. That back-to-back form keeps her in the conversation for the world title and reinforces the sense that she is turning consistency into a real championship bid. Castro said the atmosphere in Munich was great and noted that the level in the heats was very high, framing her result as another step toward her title goal while also helping raise the profile of e-foil and watersports in Spain and the Canary Islands.

Arpa’s third place was equally important in the men’s event because it did not interrupt his early-season charge. He opened the year with a win in Morocco, and the Munich result kept him firmly in the title hunt rather than forcing him into catch-up mode. In a circuit where momentum can disappear quickly from one stop to the next, Arpa’s podium showed that his Morocco victory was not a one-off.

What stands out most from Munich is Spain’s depth. Castro and Arpa were not isolated outliers on a good weekend; they were repeat podium finishers on both sides of the draw, following results that already signaled Spain’s presence near the top of the tour. AS.com described Spain as one of the main references in the circuit after two events, and Munich backed that up with another double podium.

For the wider world tour, that matters. When one country can produce a woman already chasing title contention and a man who has already won this season, both still finishing third at a major stop in the same venue, it changes how rivals have to prepare. Spain is no longer just collecting highlights in foil racing. It is building a competitive base that can shape the balance of the 2026 season.