Fuerteventura Windsurfing Championship Crowns Seven Champions
The 38th Windsurfing World Championship in Fuerteventura is set to be even more exciting this year, with seven world titles to be awarded across various events. The competition will feature the Women’s Freestyle title and both Men’s and Women’s Slalom X championships, along with four Wingfoil crowns. The cancellation of a subsequent event has made Fuerteventura the final stop for the FreeFly-Slalom and Surf-Freestyle competitions.
On Sunday, 19 July, the focus remained on Windsurfing Freestyle. A skippers’ meeting took place at 10:30, and conditions were quickly deemed suitable to resume heats from 11:00.
The Men’s double elimination kicked off at 11:03, with France’s Sam Esteve narrowly defeating Japan’s Ryoma Sugi. Dutch competitor Davy Scheffers advanced in the second heat, scoring nearly 30 points amid conditions ideal for jumping. Notably, Japan’s Takuma Sugi achieved a standout score of 39.7 points, the highest of the double elimination so far. Other competitors who progressed included Tim Gerdes, Tigo Kort, Nicolas Akgazciyan, Youp Schmit, and George Grisley from the UK.
Grisley’s heat was particularly dynamic, with Curaçao’s Luka Stomp briefly taking the lead before Grisley’s successful maneuvers secured his place in the next round.
The third round saw Esteve continue his winning streak against Bodhi Kempen from the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Takuma Sugi faced Tim Gerdes, culminating in Sugi’s impressive score of 7.76 points for a shifty move. Nicolas Akgazciyan overcame Tigo Kort and will now face Italian competitor Jacopo Testa. Grisley concluded the men’s session with a close win against Youp Schmit.
The women’s double elimination began at 13:27, starting with Germany’s Helena Derya Lale defeating Austria’s Lina Schmied. Isabelle van Noesel of the Netherlands then moved on by besting Italy’s Bianca Sottile with a forward loop. Following these heats, the competition took a break for lunch before resuming the double elimination rounds.
The women’s final round will determine both the Fuerteventura winner and the 2026 World Champion for Windsurf Freestyle, as this is the only event on the women’s calendar. Dutch competitor Maaike Huvermann leads after winning the single elimination on Saturday, narrowly beating Aruba’s Sarah-Quita Offringa. Offringa, who needs to win twice against Huvermann in the double elimination to secure the title, enters this crucial phase with mounting pressure.
The men’s competition will continue in the afternoon, with competitors like Bodhi Kempen, Steven Van Broeckhoven, Jacopo Testa, and Dieter Van der Eyken vying for a chance to advance. While many will be eliminated by the end of the day, the champion won’t be determined until Monday. Greece’s Lennart Neubauer, who won the single elimination, is currently in the lead, followed closely by Belgium’s Yentel Caers, Switzerland’s Balz Müller, and Japan’s Takumi Moriya.
