PWA X IWT Fiji: Great conditions for the first round in Cloudbreak - the best pictures from the Fiji World Cup
SURF Redaktion
· 01.06.2023
The 22-year-old waverider from Brittany is known for his daredevil style in rough conditions. And he doesn't seem to shy away from the lip of the wave in Cloudbreak either - he attacked the mast-high, fetching waves like there was no tomorrow. Among other things, he shot his way to a gigantic aerial and posted the highest heat score of the first round today with 14.80 points.
Round one of the men's competition completed
Three to four riders raced in each heat - the best two progressed. The two Germans Leon Jamaer and Flo Jung won their heats in the first round, while Julian Salmonn unfortunately finished in third place and was therefore eliminated.
Philip Köster unfortunately had to cancel his start on site due to injury. He broke his foot during training around four weeks ago: "I travelled to Fiji in the hope that I would be fit again in time. However, I quickly realised on the water that the pain was still too great for me to be competitive. I wanted to try, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Now I have to be patient so that I can give it my all again at the World Cup on my doorstep in Gran Canaria at the beginning of July."
Surprisingly, the two top riders Marcilio Browne and Victor Fernandez were eliminated early in the first round.
And former champion Björn Dunkerbeck also failed to make it through the first round. But he can be proud of his offspring: his son Liam put in a solid performance in the very first heat of the day and went straight through to the second round.
Apparently, for coordination reasons, there will only be a single elimination (first round) and no second round in Fiji. This is tough news, especially for those who have travelled all this way and have already been eliminated today. For those, the contest is over because there is only one chance.
The forecast for the coming days looks good. The IWT has permission to hold the competition on the reef for a total of five days. We are excited to see how things will continue. It looks particularly good for the weekend. According to commentator Kai Katchadourian, tomorrow could therefore possibly be a rest day.
Hard crash from Marcilio Browne
After seeing this crash, you no longer have to wonder why Marcilio Browne retired early. A millisecond too late, he hits the lip and is torn apart. He should be fine, but he will be making his way home to Maui tomorrow.
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