The Big Air Hydrofoil Showdown! These are the true kings, wind or no wind! 👑
Hold on tight, everyone, because what you're about to read sounds like a whole other sport! The adrenaline rush of the GKA Hydrofoil Big Air World Cup Abu Dhabi has finally come to an end, and the results are simply BRUTAL! We witnessed an epic battle at Fahid Island that left us speechless, wind or no wind. With the speed they reach on foils, they end up jumping as high as on windier days. What will they do in 35-knot winds?
SUELTALABARRA family! What's happened in this championship proves that the new generation is coming on strong and the veterans aren't giving up. New Zealander @hugo_wigglesworth (19 years old) has been crowned champion in his debut season, while the incredible Swiss player @andreazust has successfully defended her title.
A historic double and a dream debut!
Young Hugo Wigglesworth (@hugo_wigglesworth) set the bar so high that no one could reach it. In a nail-biting final against 16-year-old German @finn_flugel , Hugo proved that his 10 years of training have paid off. His Backroll Rodeo was scored an incredible 9.07, catapulting him to first place!
"It feels incredible... I'm super excited. I'd say it was my best heat here and I'm glad I made it to the final," the champion declared.
The queen of big air has no limits.
In the women's category, Andrea Zust (@andreazust) once again demonstrated why she is the two-time champion, although the Frenchwoman Christelle Divry (37 years old) made it VERY difficult for her with her mastery of the foil.
Britain's Annie Branton (@anniebranton), in her first final, had a difficult start but made an epic comeback with a last-minute trick that gave her the bronze.
Women's Division:
🥇 Andrea Zust (SUI)
🥈 Christelle Divry (FRA)
🥉 Annie Branton (GBR)
4th Katka Salandova (CZE)
Men's Division:
🥇 Hugo Wigglesworth (NZL)
🥈 Finn Flügel (GER)
🥉 Borja Vellon (ESP)
4th Leonardo Casati (ITA)
Special mention to our local rider, the Spaniard @borja_vellon , for squeezing onto the podium after an incredible comeback. I got nervous because it took him a while to pull off those tricks that got him to the final. That's the Hydrofoil Big Air for you; he took a gamble and nailed it on the last trick to secure that BRONZE in the Hydrofoil.
The great @borja_vellon told us: "The truth is that competing without pressure is the best, I went all out and it went great, although in the final we had 7 attempts of which only 3 counted, and I messed up in 4 of them and in a row, because I played to go 'all in', but in the end I managed to land the last two and boom! 3rd place."
That's the way, champ!
If you like unexpected falls, you're going to have fun in this championship.
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
If you want to emulate the tricks of these aerial monsters, you need the right equipment, and that includes the SONIC5 to help you reach your peak for that next Big Air! CLICK HERE TO GET IT!
Source of Information: Original text and images courtesy of @gkakiteworldtour (words by Ian MacKinnon, photographs by Svetlana Romantsova).
