Please select your home edition
Edition
Mackay Boats 728x90 TOP

Chile World Cup 2024: Intense aerial action for early Pro Rounds

by International Windsurfing Tour 4 Apr 2024 21:07 PDT 1-12 April, 2024

No holds barred seemed to be the theme of the day, with Challenger Finals and Round 1 of the Pro Men and Women. Today's conditions had plenty of wind, sunshine with consistent head high waves that occasionally reached logo high on sets.

Challenger Rounds

The Women's Challenger round was won by Dominica Osman (Argentina), with Camila Curinao making her way into second, only just ahead of 12-year-old local, Noni Stuven. Dominica dominated the heat, with a good top-to-bottom surf style of riding on well-selected waves to qualify for the Pro Women's competition.

The Men's Challenger final had whittled down 24 contenders into a four-man final. Vicente Gonzalez started strongly, with some good turns and an aerial in his first wave. He then backed that up with plenty of time to spare, to assert a dominant lead that he maintained the entire final.

The battle for the second position was more intense between Lucas Meldrum, Finn Mellon, and Tomer Shamgar (Israel). Shamgar was sitting in fourth place for most of the heat, but rode a peeling wave from very deep and finished with a perfect aerial to jump into second place in the final minute of the heat.

Pro Men's Round 1

The Pro Men's started with a cracking heat that included 2023 World Champion Marcilio Browne (Brazil), former Chile finalist Camille Juban (Guadeloupe), Adam Warchol (Poland), and Shamgar. By the end, less than two points would separate first from fourth. Browne's perfection was unmatched in the first exchange, with a 7.23 that included multiple top-to-bottom turns in the pocket and a solid aerial to finish. He found reasonable back-up waves, but nothing that matched his first. After a shaky start, Juban showcased his aerial excellence with two airs on one wave. In the last two minutes and still needing a decent back-up, he did a radical tweaked air off the main peak to take the lead.

Alex Vargas (Chile) nailed his start to Heat 2 with a 6.50 on his first wave, schooling the spectators in how to ride Matanzas. He easily found several back-up scores to maintain the lead, while Takara Ishii (Japan) just knocked out Takuma Sugi (Japan) and Dieter Van der Eyken in a tight aerial battle for second place.

Federico Morisio (Italy) exhibited the results of his lengthy stays in Chile, sailing fast and timing aerials perfectly. On a smaller set, he pulled off multiple aerials and a goiter to lock in his progression to the next round. Local Arnaud Frennet scored a good set from deep and did several critical aerials to get the best wave of the heat but couldn't find a back-up. Miguel Chapuis (Spain) was sitting in third for most of the heat but pulled a goiter right in the last minute to sneak into second place.

Morgan Noireaux and Jules Denel crafted a complete French domination of Heat 4. Morgan's superior wave knowledge, aggressive turns, and aerial prowess had him pegged as a safe Round 1 bet for progression. But Jules Denel hammered home a 7.77, with multiple, beautifully timed aerials to take the win.

Antoine Martin continued the French attack in Heat 5 with a good mix of fin slides in the pocket, aerials, and a one-handed lip hit for his best wave score of 7.77. Liam Dunkerbeck (Spain) just snuck into second place with a solid aerial performance.

Last year's winner, Philip Koster (Germany), tested his bag of tricks with big tweaked aerials, power turns, and some goiter and wave 360 attempts. But it was Marino Gil Gheradi (Spain) who threw solid spray, made good aerials, and even pulled a taka to progress in first place.

Thomas Traversa (France) and Victor Fernandez (Spain) pulled multiple aerials and hard-hitting turns in the pocket to fight off local ripper Benjamin Fabres and progress.

But the show-stopper was Julian Salmonn (Germany), who came out with guns blazing in the final heat of the Pro Men's. He connected four strong aerials to score an 8.63, the highest wave score of the day. Bernd Roediger (Hawaii) had to settle for second but still got the third highest heat total of the day.

Pro Women's Round 1

Heat 1 of the Pro Women's had dominant performances from Justyna Sniady (Poland) and Sarah Hauser (Hawaii). Both showcased strong snaps in the pocket and attacked the end section.

Lina Erpenstein (Germany) had her best wave in the final minute of Heat 2 and did multiple lip smacks to take the win ahead of Maria Morales Navarro.

Young gun Alexia Quintana (Spain) had a stand-out performance with fast snaps under the lip of some good-sized sets. Quintana was well-rewarded and finished with the highest heat total of the women. Lisa Wermeister just snuck into second with some great wave selection and strong turns.

The dropping evening wind of Heat 4 didn't stop Jane Seman (Australia), who found multiple good waves in her heat and attacked sections with speed. Pauline Katz (Switzerland) let her Canary Islands experience shine to cement her position through to Round 3.

The Pro Men's and Women's are likely to continue tomorrow, with finals possibly running on the weekend.

Follow the live competition scores on Live Heats. The full Live Broadcast will be streamed on the IWT Wave Tour YouTube channel, and the official IWT event page. Follow on social media channels @IWT_Wave_Tour and @PWAworldtour.

Related Articles

MFC Maui Pro Am delivers
Heroes rise in stacked finals day at Ho'okipa The first springtime World Cup at Ho'okipa in over 20 years exploded back to life today as the 2025 MFC Maui Pro Am crowned two incredible champions in Marcilio Browne (BRA) and Marine Hunter (FRA). Posted on 15 Apr
2025 Chile World Cup Masters Overall
Masters finalists deliver explosive showdown The Masters division lit up the lineup today at the 5 Star World Cup, as four legends of wave riding battled it out in a fiercely contested final under the Chilean sun at the legendary Topocalma. Posted on 3 Apr
2025 Chile World Cup Overall
Emotions ran high as finalists were crowned in Chile The 2025 Chile World Cup concluded in spectacular fashion on Finals Day at Topocalma, where perfect lines, offshore wind, and high drama combined for one of the most memorable days in World Wave Tour history. Posted on 2 Apr
2025 Chile World Cup day 5
Emotions ran high as finalists were crowned in Chile The Chile World Cup saw emotional scenes on the beach as exhausted but elated riders returned to shore, having just secured their places in the finals of one of the most iconic events on the World Wave Tour calendar. Posted on 1 Apr
The most important job in sailing
How Nick Scott is delivering radical change to competitive sailing pathways in the UK I am putting forward that falls to Nick Scott and his team. Namely to secure its competitive future by addressing challenges and delivering radical change while bringing people on that journey with him. Posted on 31 Mar
2025 Chile World Cup day 4
Chile delivers again! Mast-high waves ignite champion rounds The Chile World Cup exploded into action today with mast-high surf and perfect down-the-line conditions, setting the stage for the opening rounds of the Champions Bracket in both the men's and women's divisions. Posted on 31 Mar
2025 Chile World Cup day 3
A forecast that couldn't be more exciting The wait is over. The 2025 World Wave Tour launches LIVE from the iconic Matanzas point break in Chile with a powerful new season of world-class battles, breakthrough stories, and a forecast that couldn't be more exciting. Posted on 30 Mar
2025 Chile World Cup day 2
Topocalma delivers Agony and Ecstasy Day 2 of the Chile World Cup lit up with world-class conditions as Topocalma delivered near-perfect waves, setting the stage for an electric day of competition in the Challenger Rounds. Posted on 29 Mar
2025 Chile World Cup day 1
Local young hero Iñaki Maturana lit up the beach with a commanding win in his opening heat The 2025 Chile World Cup kicked off today, launching the World Wave Tour's 5 Star season with Round 1 of the Men's division with world-class performances at the iconic break of Matanzas. Posted on 27 Mar
2025 Chile World Cup set for epic showdown
The unified PWA IWT World Wave Tour's (WWT) first 5-Star event of the season The 2025 Chile World Cup is set to open the unified PWA IWT World Wave Tour's (WWT) first 5-Star event of the season, with the world's best wave riders converging on Matanzas' legendary waves for two weeks of elite-level competition. Posted on 24 Mar
Lloyd Stevenson - AC ETNZ 1456x180px BOTTOMSea Sure 2025RS Sailing 2021 - FOOTER