2024 GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura day 3 - Teenagers land back-to-back world titles
by GWA Media 25 Jul 06:10 NZST
19-24 July 2024
Axel Gerard, Christopher Macdonald, Mar De Arce, Nia Suardiaz, Orane Ceris, Viola Lippitsch, Xavier Corr - 2024 GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura day 3 © Svetlana Romantsova
There was drama in each heat on the final day of the Surf-Freestyle in Fuerteventura as one rider after another kept dropping sick tricks, each higher and more precise than the next.
Injury, innovation and pressure cooker heats punctuated the day where eventual winners, Spain's Nia Suardiaz, 17, and the US's Christopher MacDonald, 18, were challenged at every turn, being put on the back foot for the first time in the competition.
Huge back and forward flips, and rapid combination tricks were hucked by competitors with 9-point scores. But Suardiaz and MacDonald settled down in the finals and gave a masterclass on what is now a new standard of explosive, technical and perfectly executed freestyle tricks.
Winning the event, the Spaniard and American top the Surf-Freestyle rankings. Even with one stop left, they become 2024 Surf-Freestyle World Champions, giving both remarkable back-to-back titles. Suardiaz landed the wingfoil Big Air crown barely a fortnight ago, making her a triple World Champion.
Rising tide of tricks
The progression train these champions started last spring with their first wins, launched a demand for quality over quantity by the judges that drove GWA riders to hit every trick harder, higher and with more control. In Fuerteventura, they battled through this rising tide of challengers and closed out the final jam session with near perfection.
"I'm super proud of all these guys," said MacDonald who was trading the lead in the finals jump-for-jump with Axel Gerard (FRA) who had dropped an event high trick score of 9.7 with a triple backflip combo in the semifinals. "Coming into this I thought I had an advantage, but everyone showed me they're right there with me or even ahead of me."
Gerard was gathering 8-point then 9-point scores in the finals but MacDonald would hit the same trick, just higher, crisper and with smoother landings, gaining a half point here and there. Xavier Corr (ESP) was the lone challenger to the battling pair after Malo Guénolé (FRA) qualified for the finals but was carried off the beach on a stretcher in the middle of his semifinal heat when a landing went wrong and he injured his arm and back.
When the dust settled, Gerard had a 28 points and MacDonald had a miraculous 28.89 punctuated by a 9.83 frontside 1080 he said, "was the best of my life."
Buttery smooth finish
Suardiaz also had worthy challengers in her finals. Mar de Arce (ESP) kicked off the event with a "first-ever" front flip triggering innovative jumps in almost every heat. She kept the streak alive with an 8.93 front flip in the finals.
Young Viola Lippitsch (AUT) was also pushing hard landing a stretched out backflip and lead the heat momentarily over thee Spaniards and Orane Ceris (FRA).
But Suardiaz wasn't intimidated. Despite having crashed out on several attempts, she stuck her now signature innovation in women's competition, a buttery tack backflip for a 9.0 score and nailed the win with less than two points between her and De Arce.
"I crashed my first trick, one that I usually land every single time so I was frustrated," said Suardiaz about the finals. "Then I got the tack backflip so I was really stoked and I was on top."
Suardiaz said that the women have raised their game since the last Surf-Freestyle event in Tarifa. "All the girls have been training so hard and Mar [de Arce] is ripping with her front flips," she said. "It's so sick to see all the girls ripping. The level went so much higher especially in the final heats."
It's hard to imagine where freestyle tricks will go from here after riders proved in Fuerteventura that anything is possible. But with several months of training to go before the next stop, judges should start adjusting their scales and paying attention what these riders are doing on Instagram, since the riders certainly plan on upping their game.
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura 2024: Surf-Freestyle
Women
1. Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
2. Mar de Arce (ESP)
3. Viola Lippitsch (AUT)
4. Orane Ceris (FRA)
Men
1. Christopher MacDonald (USA)
2. Axel Gerard (FRA)
3. Xavier Corr (ESP)
4. Malo Guénolé (FRA)