APP Worldtour Gran Canaria 2023: Iballa Moreno wins the title

The best conditions at this year's Gran Canaria Pro-Am came right at the end, when a nice swell hit the line-up on Sunday afternoon with a long period, providing great conditions for the competition.

The women's semi-finals therefore started early in the morning. It was clear from the start that the 2018 world champion, Iballa Moreno, here from Gran Canaria, was not only in form but also clearly aiming for victory. Due to the tight time window for optimal conditions, a four-woman format was adopted for this final day of competition. Iballa started the day well, scoring a solid 7-point wave to secure her place in the final alongside Argentina's Luchy Cosoleto, another standout competitor in the event.

But in the final, Iballa was able to shift up a gear and secured two strong rides to claim a well-deserved victory over last year's winner Kaede Inoue from Japan. Argentina's Luchy Cosoleto finished the contest in third place and Inoue's younger sister Sakura in fourth. At the age of 45, Iballa continues her success story on the APP World Tour. She secures her second world title and her second event win here in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a phenomenal achievement at any age. Her performance this year clearly shows once again that we can expect even more from this incredible talent in the years to come.

All results of the APP World Tour SUP Surf Gran Canaria

Moritz Mauch represents Gran Canaria in the men's event

In the men's division, it was a fight to the finish with Luiz Diniz from Brazil taking the win with another solid performance at El Lloret. After an epic quarter-final round on Sunday afternoon, 26 November, in an increasing swell, the semi-finalists were decided: 4 Brazilians (Luiz Diniz, Wellington Reis, Leco Salazar and Leonardo Gimenes), Benoit Carpentier from France, Taka Inoue from Japan, Sebastian Gomez from Peru and Moritz Mauch, representing Gran Canaria in this World Championship Tour Final.

Benoit Carpentier set the pace in semi-final one and entered the final together with Japanese talent Taka Inoue. In the second semi-final, eventual winner Luiz Diniz made his intentions clear and dominated the strong competition, followed by his Brazilian compatriot Leonardo Gimenes.

Luiz Diniz wins the men's competition

When the last heat of the day began, all 4 athletes put in solid scores. The outstanding wave of the final and the entire competition came once again from Leonardo Gimenes, as was also the case in the longboard section - a great performance from this young talent.

But it was the consistency and connection of Luiz Diniz's turns that won over the impressive competition in the final and earned him the victory. The enthusiastic Taka Inoue took 2nd place, rounding off another spectacular week of competition for the Inoue family. Leonardo Gimenes finished in 3rd place with the highest score of the competition, but was unable to achieve a good enough back-up wave to claim victory. Benoit Carpentier from France finished in 4th place.

This concludes a fantastic week of action at the Gran Canaria Pro-Am, where both Junior (U18) Boys and Girls Champions were crowned, as well as Longboard SUP Champions for Men and Women and the Pro Men and Women Champions for 2023. Although the conditions were not as spectacular as the 2022 edition, the competitors and organisers were lucky enough to get some beautiful waves and the action was exceptional.

Prominent partners from Dunkerbeck to VW

Thanks to all the partners of the event: from Gran Canaria Tourism, Sport and Las Palmas City Council to Volkswagen, Red Bull and our local partner Bjorn Dunkerbeck, as well as all the other local supporters who make this event possible.

All the highlights and full results from this year's Gran Canaria Pro-Am can be found on the Gran Canaria event page: appworldtour.com

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