Daida Moreno and Marcilio Browne reign supreme

10/07/2023

The final day of competition at the Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup in Pozo Izquierdo on Sunday saw Daida Moreno and Marcilio Browne take the top step on the wave podium. Marino Gil, a native of the spot, caused a sensation by pushing BRA-105 to the limit...

On the 9th and final day of the Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup, Sunday was the last chance to launch the double elimination men's and women's waves, the last heats of which took place 7 days earlier. And while no one really seemed to believe in it any more as the days went by, the conditions became quite acceptable at the end of the morning for resuming the competition, even if finding a good wave remains a question of luck.
With 14-minute heats, the best 2 jumps and the best surf taken into account, it was a long day. Among the day's great comebacks was that of local Josep Pons, who climbed from 17th to 7th place after 6 heats. Another local, Alessio Stillrich, also put in a fine performance, beating Thomas Traversa and Antoine Martin in the process, in a heat against F-193 in which the 2 men were tied on points, with the surfing score making the difference... Philip Köster, who also went out early in the single elimination, was back in top form and went through 5 rounds before losing out to a more incisive Marc Paré. G-44 had to be content with 5th place.

In fine form on this Sunday, Paré beat Ricardo Campello for 3rd place but could do nothing against Marino Gil for a place in the final. In great form, the young local from Pozo Izquierdo met Marcilio Browne in the final and put the pressure on the reigning world champion. In the final minutes of this heat, E-959 planted a double forward followed by a masterful 1-foot back loop that forced a super final to be held to decide the winner of this event. A guy who is very difficult to beat twice in a row, Marcilio Browne won the last men's heat of the week and finally took victory for the 1st time in his career at Pozo Izquierdo.

In the women's race, despite a broken mast in the final and a quick change of equipment, Daida Moreno remained unbeatable on home soil despite the talent and determination of Sarah-Quita Offringa. E-64 takes its 22nd victory in Pozo Izquierdo in 24 years and 23 editions. Earlier in the day, Germany's Lina Erpenstein made a fine comeback in this double elimination to take 3rd place in the competition, with Iballa Moreno withdrawing due to a knee injury.
The Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup in Pozo Izquierdo came to an end after a total of 9 days of competition. At the end of the month, the slalom riders will head to the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura for the 3rd event of the year, while the waveriders will have to wait until the end of September for the traditional event in Sylt, Germany, except for those who will be heading to Pacasmayo in Peru at the end of August for the 4-star leg of the PWA IWT Unified Wave Tour.