Spain and Germany will fight for the final of the Windsurfing World Cup in Gran Canaria
by Gran Canaria Windsurfing World Cup 16 Jul 2022 05:17 AEST
Philip Köster (Germany) before the finals - Windsurfing World Cup 2022 © Delfour Photographer
Pozo Izquierdo is awaiting the grand final to be played between Philip Köster from the Canary Islands (competing for Germany) and Víctor Fernández from Andalusia, after they both passed the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Likewise, Liam Dunkerbeck from Gran Canaria leads the U20 category.
During the quarter finals, Philip Köster from the Canary Islands (competing for Germany), swept all his heats, although he didn't have it so easy in the quarter finals against the Catalan, Marc Paré, "the prince of the waves". One of the highlights was when Köster attempted a pushloop, while Paré saw all his manoeuvres behind him, to which he responded with a huge double jump forward. "It has to be the highest jump we've seen so far, rated at 9.77 points," commented the judges.
However, both windsurfers were very close in jumps, with Köster obtaining 15.73 points in total, after the sum of his two best jumps, while Paré managed to score 15.77, so the waves gave Köster the advantage, beating the Catalan in his speciality. Köster also knocked out the Frenchman, Thomas Traversa, in the semi-final, who he beat by far in jumps, but not when wave riding. "The heat went very well, there were a few waves missing, but I'm very happy and anxious to go out for the next one," said the five-time world champion.
The other surprising performance came from the Andalusian, Victor Fernandez, who defeated Brazil's Ricardo Campello (competing for Venezuela) in the last wave of the last minute of the heat, thanks to a well-executed frontside that gave him the points he needed at the last moment, giving him the pass to the final against Köster. "I can't believe it, the level is incredible this year, anyone could win the finals, I've focused on the waves, as it's been a bit difficult to find them," confessed the three-time world champion, who is "focused and ready to give it all in the final", although he recognised that it will be "a very difficult and evenly matched final".
Fernández, who has already won six times in Pozo Izquierdo, also beat Liam Dunkerbeck (Gran Canaria) in the quarter finals. "I am very happy after winning the U20 class, I was also fifth in the absolute category, the conditions were not easy in the morning, but they got better, although I felt tired after so many heats" said Dunkerbeck. For Campello, the conditions were not the best either, in fact, he "had a hard time" getting a second jump due to the lack of waves. "I made it to the semi-final, but unfortunately I didn't have a good second jump, but now I will fight for the third place, the double elimination is also pending, so I hope to go higher," said Campello, a three-time world champion.
Canary Islanders on the youth podiums at the Windsurfing World Cup
The youngest in the category were the first to take to the water to compete for the podium in the U20 class. Among the under 20s, Liam Dunkerbeck not only won all the heats, but also proved to be as high as the most experienced. In fact, the competition served him as a warm-up before facing the best in the world, even reaching the quarter-finals. According to the judge, Luis Escribano, "Dunkerbeck did quite a few good manoeuvres, getting a backloop one foot and several doubles". Dunkerbeck is also leading the Red Bull Rockets, a simultaneous competition, being the rider who has flown the highest with a stall forward of 6.7 metres high.
In addition to Dunkerbeck, another Gran Canarian, Alexia Kiefer, dominates the women's U20 class, while her brother, Carlos Kiefer, is in third place among the under-17s (both competing for Germany). In the women's U17 class, it is Tenerife's Maria Morales who tops the podium. Among the youngest riders, the rider from Tarifa, Javier Escribano, got third place in U15, a category currently led by the German Peter Gobisch.