On Sunday, 7 April 2024, in Matanzas, on the occasion of the final rounds of the Chilean 2024 Wave World Championship Event, a new chapter in the history of windsurfing was written.

 

IWT-PWA - Matanzas, Chile, 2024: a new chapter in the history of windsurfing

 

I don't know how many of you took some time to watch the livestream broadcast from Matanzas last Sunday. If you haven't done so, watch the video as soon as you can (at least the last heats), even if you're not an experience rider. Below, for your convenience, we embed the video we are speaking about.

The semi-finals and finals of the PRO category took place on Sunday, for both men and women. The swell in Matanzas grew during the day, and just before the semi-finals, some incredible sets began to enter the bay, with waves that, in some cases, were even over mast high..... And the riders proved to be up to the task, showcasing exceptional numbers. The scene that the video shows from time 3:27:56, with a series of crazy bombs arriving, and a rider disappearing into the trough of each of them, is memorable.

As for the PRO men competition, Morgan Noireaux (then, placed second in the Event), performed a crazy wave 360 on a huge wave in the semifinals (see video at time 3:14:35 ). Camille Juban, who then won the final, surfed waves higher than his mast, in a clean, radical and precise way, even performing very high aerials, and confirming that he is an incredible rider, and that he is back in full shape after the injury he got last year.

Victor Fernandez, who has been at the highest levels for years, has always chosen his waves very well, and has always ridden them with great elegance and regularity, also performing Goiters, and always achieving very high scores. Philip Koster, winner here last year, placed fourth in the final, but still with a monstrous score of 15.50 .....

 

 

 

As for the Pro women competition, the German Lina Erpenstein, a 27-year veteran who has been competing for more than 10 years, made all her experience count, and she won the Event. But it is quite impressive to think that behind her were Alexia Quintana, an 18-year-old Spaniard, and Sol Degrieck, a 14-year-old Belgian (14!). Despite their young age, they rode waves that would have troubled many more mature riders.

Here, to conclude, is a note on future prospects about the Tour.

A good pool of young riders (during the championship the eighteen-year-old from Guadeloupe Kymani Laurent, and several Japanese guys also stood out) seems to be able to guarantee continuity in the show of talented athletes for the competitions of the years to come.

This year's Chilean event, organized with a lot of commitment by both local people and authorities, and by riders involved in the tour, laid the foundations for Matanzas to become a point of reference (like the Aloha Classic, or that of the Fiji) in the world wave championship, and definitively launched this Chilean reef, panoramically amazing, as a mythical spot for waveriding.

Hang loose. Fabio Muriano