Day 3 at the EFPT Theologos 2021

by EFPT 12 Sep 2021 03:29 NZST 8-12 September 2021

Primus Sörling kicking off the day with a Shaka - 2021 EFPT Theologos, day 3 © PROtography Official

On day three of the EFPT Theologos the conditions got as good as it gets. Up to 30 knots of wind and some tasty waves provided for the ideal arena to run the full double eliminations for the Junior's and Women's.

The men also got their turn, completing three rounds of their respective elimination. And although the titles were not decided yet today, the action was pumping nonetheless! Read on to learn about the highlights of the day...

The day was kickstarted with the Juniors who got a second chance at putting down a good result. Primus Sörling (Starboard/Severne) won his first heat against Mateusz Luboinski but was then stopped by his opponent's older brother Jakub. The Polish rookie impressed with a tasty forward securing himself his first EFPT heat win. His run was unfortunately ended by Italian Piero Rautnik who was clearly more experienced. Despite that, Rautnik was no match for Brouwersdam local Tigo Kort (JP/NeilPryde) who, with a Kabikuchi even the pros would be jealous of, went on to challenge for second against his training partner Bodhi Kempen (Severne). Throwing down another Kabi, Kort ended up taking second in the Juniors competition. As expected, Lennart Neubauer (Starboard/Severne) was untouchable and easily defended his first place. He cannot celebrate yet though, as in the upcoming days another single elimination will be run for the Juniors.

Hanna Poschinger taming the crazy conditions at Theologos - 2021 EFPT Theologos, day 3 - photo © PROtography Official

In the Women's double Hanna Poschinger (Starboard/Severne) managed to take down Sterre Meijer (Severne), claiming third place. It was the conditions that proved difficult for the young dutch freestyler, who has not yet acquired much experience in the waves. In the next heat Olya Raskina (JP/NeilPryde) defended her position from Poschinger and went on to challenge Maaike Huvermann (Severne/Maui Ultra Fins). Raskina showed great determination, but with Huvermann's arsenal of power moves the first two positions after the double stayed the same as in the single elimination. Similar to the juniors, the women will also sail another single elimination. The organisers want to give them as much sailing time as possible, since the European Title will be decided at this event!

In the Men's double elimination, a total of 21 heats were sailed. Three sailors in particular deserve praise for their progress throughout the day: Bodhi Kempen, Felix Volkhardt (Severne) and Matteo Testa. All three stormed through the ranks after a disappointing result the day before. Kempen had something to make up for after losing his second spot in the Juniors, and he even had to sail an extra heat before the double started due to the uneven number of competitors.

The current Top 3 women: Huvermann, Raskina and Poschinger - 2021 EFPT Theologos, day 3 - photo © PROtography Official

In the end, it was Marco Vinante who stopped him in the last heat of the day. However, Kempen did not go down without a fight, landing a Culo, Kono and a nice Shaka on his way out. Felix Volkhardt was on a roll as well, taking down George Grisley and the ever-positive Taty Frans (Point-7/FutureFly) with some sweet Burner 360's. In the end it took a Shifty, a Double Forward (9.25 points!) and consequently the highest scoring heat of the competition to stop him. This feat was achieved by none other than Gollito Estredo who wanted to prove himself after losing out to young gun Neubauer the day before.

The conditions suited the Venezuelan rider who also took down Dudu Levi (Starboard/Gun Sails) in the previous round. Finally, Matteo Testa climbed the ranks as well, impressing with a radical style he surely trained together with his brother Jacopo.

We are now down to the 12 best riders for the double finals on Saturday. Will we see Amado holding on to his first place? Or will the likes of Gollito Estredo, Yentel Caers (JP/NeilPryde), or Lennart Neubauer climb up to challenge the current top 3? Follow livepage here to see all the finals. Starting at 12:00 are the Junior's and Women's new single eliminations. From 14.00 on we will see the Men's double elimination finals! See you there!