On the brink of the finals

26/10/2024

The Aloha Classic Playa Surf Grand Final progressed slowly on Friday in Hookipa with a sizeable swell but also more technical conditions. Lina Erpenstein, the favourite for the women's world title, missed out on her entry into the competition, while Spain's Marino Gil saw his dreams of a world crown dashed when he was eliminated in his repechage round...

The wind may be lighter than the day before, but the swell is still there this Friday for the second day of the Aloha Classic Playa Surf Grand Final at Hookipa. Left in abeyance on the previous day, the last two heats of the repechage round are underway. Marino Gil was waiting for his chance to get back into the competition, but the Pozo Izquierdo local couldn't find his rhythm. Like Philip Köster the day before, he bids farewell to his world title ambitions. Russ Faurot and Baptiste Cloarec won this heat, followed a few minutes later by Adam Warchol and Robby Swift. Among the women, who took to the water at the same time, the same scenario emerged as in the men's table... Maria Andrés, Sarah Hauser, Shawna Cropas and Coraline Foveau took advantage of knowing the Hookipa spot by heart to show their potential in mast-sized waves. Despite her determination, Lina Erpenstein was no match for Andrés and Foveau. While Sarah Hauser and Shawna Cropas beat Marine Hunter and Pauline Katz, the final heat in the women's race proved particularly interesting. The favourite of the competition and determined to defend her world crown, Sarah-Quita Offringa was surprised by the young Guadeloupean Lisa Wermeister. Highly ambitious, she managed to put ARU-91 under pressure with a wave scoring 7.5 points. With the best performance of the day and 14.5 points in total, Lisa Wermeister achieved the heat of her life and qualified for the semi-finals!

This was followed by round 5, an important round that determines who advances to the quarter-finals. Marcilio Browne continued his good form and qualified for the next round along with Liam Dunkerbeck. Graham Ezzy and Morgan Noireaux also won their heats. With them, Antoine Martin and Julien Flechet also moved on to the next stage. In the penultimate heat of the day, Levi Siver met up with two Japanese riders, Takuma Sugi and Takara Ishii. Sugi found two waves right from the start where he could show all his potential, but Levi Siver raised his game with a wave scoring 9.1 points. In the next round, Kai Lenny continued his good form with two perfect waves at the end of the heat and qualified for the next round with Marc Paré. The Hawaiian remains in contention to finally fulfil his dream of winning the Aloha Classic.
With the elimination of Marino Gil, the decision on the men's world title is gathering pace. Victor Fernandez and Marc Paré still have a chance of upsetting Marcilio Browne in the annual overall rankings. But with serious waveriders like Thomas Traversa, Camille Juban and Bernd Roediger still to qualify for the quarter-finals, things are looking increasingly complicated for the two Spanish...