An Unlikely Victor

Looking back at Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo’s title winning year -- against all the odds

2014 saw Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North / MFC) claim his sixth PWA Freestyle World Championship against all the odds - as he came from behind to pip the reigning world champion at the time - Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails) and Steven Van Broeckhoven to the title.

Of course at the beginning of the year Gollito was undoubtedly one of the red hot favourites for the title -

as a multiple time world champion, he is a born winner - but a disappointing fifth place finish in Bonaire to open the season made a sixth world crown seem unlikely at that time, especially as there was no opportunity to discard the result with only three freestyle events to count.

However, as great champions do, Gollito came into the second event of the year - Fuerteventura - firing on all cylinders. Perhaps eager to prove a point that he was/is still the true King of Freestyle, or perhaps just possessing enough fighting spirit to keep his slim title chances alive with a never say die attitude. Either way there was nothing anyone could do to stop Gollito from powering to his first victory of the season, in one of his favourite locations on the tour, as he fought back from third place in the single to give a masterclass in freestyle wizardry during the double as he defeated - Amado Vrieswijk (Starboard / Severne), Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde) and Kiri Thode (Starboard / GA Sails).

Even after his victory in Fuerteventura - Gollito - still only occupied third place in the overall rankings and only realistically had an outside shot at the title. In fact coming into the event of the year, Estredo didn’t even seem to have the title on his mind, as he said: “I just came to compete and try to get a good result in the final event of the year.”. With the title out of his hands this perhaps took the pressure off the five time world champion, as he had almost nothing to lose and everything to gain. However, in order to even have a chance of winning the title, Gollito would first require Kiri Thode to finish fourth or worse - something which seemed almost unthinkable at the time given the Bonairean’s explosive and consistent form leading into the final event. 

As with any sport, nothing is ever guaranteed and this proved to be the case again as Anthony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) produced a monumental effort to knockout Thode in the quarterfinals - leaving him in fifth place - throwing the title race wide open, whilst presenting Gollito with the slim opportunity he needed to sneak in and snatch the title from under the nose of both Thode and Steven Van Broeckhoven. 

The semifinal which followed between - Estredo and Van Broeckhoven - was the biggest heat of the freestyle year as the victor would go onto claim the 2014 PWA Freestyle World Championship. With the bit between his teeth and smelling an unlikely victory, there was no way Gollito was going to let a sixth world title slip through his hands and that’s exactly what he managed to do as he defeated his Belgian rival to lift the world crown again - proving that he is still the King of Freestyle. 

Can the most successful freestyle sailor of all time do it again next year? Or do you think someone else will steal the crown away from the King?