3 questions to Coraline Foveau

21/11/2023

By finishing 2nd in the recent Maui Strong Aloha Classic, France's Coraline Foveau enters the big leagues and climbs onto the 3rd step of the annual podium in the wave discipline. Speaking to Windsurfjournal.com, she looks back on her performance at Hookipa and her 2023 season, which is coming to a close in the most beautiful of ways!

Windsurfjournal.com: 2nd place in the Aloha Classic is a great performance. How did the event go for you?
Coraline Foveau: The event went well for me right from the start and the single elimination, because I didn't have to race in the double elimination. I arrived very early, about 3 weeks before the start of the competition, so I could train. In the meantime, Air France lost my sails and I got them 10 days before the start of this Aloha Classic. As for my boards, they were supposed to arrive 10 days before, and another participant was supposed to bring them to me. But due to a series of incidents, I only got them 2 days before! I discovered them a bit late. On the 1st day of the race, we went through to the quarter-finals, a phase during which I was a little stressed because the conditions were very easy for everyone, with small waves. I didn't make any selections and took everything I could get my hands on. In the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, I was constantly in the same heat as Sarah-Quita Offringa, so there was one sure place taken and only one free! In the semi-final, I had no more stress because I had 2 seeds in my heat and the waves were a little bigger and the wind lighter. These are the conditions I generally prefer. I sailed pretty well and when I found out I was in the final of the Aloha Classic, I still walked well enough on the water to finish 2nd! I really enjoyed the event, although I would have liked bigger conditions.

WJ: How would you sum up the PWA/IWT Unified Wave Tour after a 1st year of experimentation? What do you think needs to be improved?
CF: Before this unification, I had already intended to put my foot down on the IWT Wave Tour, because I found that the destinations suited me better. So, at the beginning of the year, I was very happy to see the birth of this PWA IWT Unified Wave Tour. My assessment after this 1st year is that we're on the right road to bringing wave windsurfing back to the forefront. It also allows us to enjoy different conditions, whereas with the PWA World Tour, we had mainly European conditions. One of the things I think needs improving is convincing more women to take part. There were some in Japan and Peru, and we need to make the tour even more accessible, so that European women can meet the rest of the world and vice versa!

WJ: You've climbed to 3rd place on the annual podium with this new PWA IWT, which highlights your level and versatility. How do you see the coming seasons and does a world title seem within your grasp?
CF: I didn't have the ranking in mind at all when I attacked the Aloha Classic. I was just enjoying the competition. But with hindsight, and if the conditions and stages remain as varied as they are now, a world title, maybe not next year, because I'd still like to improve my jumping. But in a few years' time, a world title is definitely the goal. For the future, I plan to continue taking part in the world tour and discover new destinations. For example, I haven't yet had the chance to go to Japan, and then there's also the desire to return to magnificent places like Fiji...