Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival
The wind and wave continued on Day 6 of the 2019 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival leading to another full day of world class competition in arguably some of the best conditions of the event so far. By the end of the day only the top 4 men and women are left standing in the double eliminations, so Thursday is all set for finals day where you’ll be able to see if Daida Moreno (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Ricardo Campello (Brunotti Boards) can defend their single elimination crowns.
Double Elimination
Women’s
The real story in the women’s double elimination involves Alexia Kiefer Quintana, who finished second in the Girl’s U15s earlier in the week. The 14-year-old came back from the second round of the double elimination, all the way into 5th place as she won 4 consecutive heats defeating Maeli Cherel (Severne / Severne Sails), Birgit Rieger (Flikka), Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins). The youngster looks a real prospect for the future and already possesses great style and aggression on the wave, while also landing planing forward loops.
Iballa Moreno (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) eventually brought Kiefer Quintana’s come back to an end and the reigning world champion will now face Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) in the battle for third and 4th tomorrow.
Men’s
Jaeger Stone (Severne / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses) completed a solid come back today as he battled back from 9th place in the single to 5th place in the double elimination. The Australian first dispatched of Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) before going on the end the hopes of Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne), who had earlier caused the upset of the day by defeating Dany Bruch (Bruch Boards / GA Sails / AL360), Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde), Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) and finally Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails) with a series of impressive performances as he showed off his trademark rail game and jumping prowess. Stone’s come back was then brought to and end by reigning world champion - Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses) - who posted the highest scoring heat of the day 32.32 points. The Spaniard will now face Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) tomorrow in a bid for the podium.
Marc Paré completed an almost identical come back run to claim his best result yet on the world tour - 6th - after winning 4 heats on the bounce as he took down Morgan Noireaux (JP / NeilPryde) and Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / SWOX), while he produced his best performance of the day against Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / Duotone) landing a huge double forward and stalled forward, while linking together two waves in the excellent range to move into the top 6 for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, Paré didn’t have his best heat against Stone, but will still be delighted with a great start to the season.
Elsewhere, 20-year-old Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / Gun Sails) earned his first top 10 finish on the world tour - 9th - after coming through from the first round of the double. The German inflicted plenty of damage with his wave riding, while landing several massive jumps to progress past Alex Grand-Guillot (Fanatic / Duotone) and Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) before claiming impressive victories against Adam Lewis (Fanatic/ Duotone) and local boy Omar Sanchez (Star-Fish / KA Sail) before losing out to Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / Duotone).
Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde) also came from the first round of the double to record his first top 10 finish on the world tour since 2016 as he gathered momentum in the double elimination. The 25-year-old produced a late pushloop forward - one of the only ones of the day - in Heat 41a to snatch victory from Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / Duotone).
With a similar looking forward for Thursday, we should see an epic finale to the 2019 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival. The sailors will meet again at 10:30am (GMT+1) tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 11am onwards.
You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Current Ranking 2019 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival - Women’s Double Elimination
*Top 4 places may still change
1st Daida Moreno (ESP - Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Justyna Sniady (POL - Simmer / Simmer / AL360)
3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU - Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Iballa Moreno (ESP - Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
5th Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER - Fanatic / Duotone)
6th Maaike Huvermann (NED - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
7th Caterina Stenta (ITA / RRD Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
7th Oda Brødholt (NOR - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
Current Ranking 2019 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival - Men’s Double Elimination
*Top 4 places may still change
1st Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN - Brunotti Boards)
2nd Marcilio Browne (BRA - Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Philip Köster (GER - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Victor Fernandez (ESP - Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses)
5th Jaeger Stone (AUS - Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)
6th Marc Paré (ESP - Simmer / Simmer Sails)
7th Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (VEN - Fanatic / Duotone)
7th Alex Mussolini (ESP - RRD / RRD Sails)
9th Thomas Traversa (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Julian Salmonn (GER - Bruch Boards / Gun Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (GER - JP / NeilPryde)
9th Antoine Martin (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)