At the end of the Gran Canaria ProAm 2024, the new world champions of the APP World Tour in the longboard category were crowned. The Japanese Taka Inoue, who had already won the SUP Surf title, missed out on the double after losing to Frenchman Benoit Carpentier in the final. Carpentier could not hold back his tears of emotion over his victory. Kaede Inoue was nevertheless able to crown a triumphant week for the Inoue family on Gran Canaria by winning her own third longboard title and bringing the third World Championships to the family. Leonardo Gimenes, a Brazilian whose parents are from Granada and who competes with dual nationality, won the national championship against Juan de los Reyes from Cádiz, thanks to a great last wave that was awarded eight points by the judges.
The Carpentiers' little brother, Benoit Carpentier, competed in the longboard final with ambition and hunger. The winner of Gran Canaria 2022 and two-time world champion in the wave was hot for the longboard title. This discipline combines the classic and elegant format of the longboard, where the athlete seems to walk on the water, with the explosiveness of the turns and jumps of wave riding. Recently, the Frenchman has always just missed out on the title with several second places and has never missed out in the five editions of the event on Gran Canaria. Alongside Sebastian Gomez, Carpentier is regarded as one of the most important talents on the tour in this discipline.
Taka Inoue with lots of nose time, Benoit Carpentier with lots of style and radical moves
But an inspired Taka Inoue with his skills on the board, in an art that seems to defy the rules of physics, was a tough opponent. Two of the key manoeuvres of the classic longboard involve moving along the board to reach the tip or nose and then letting one or two feet 'hang over' the front ('hang five' or 'hang ten'). Taka seemed right at home on the nose, even placing paddle strokes when the rest of his competitors returned to the back to avoid falling. He had a clear advantage, but the Frenchman was his equal in this art at all times, even with a hang five, where he extended one foot and stuck the other leg out in a kind of backwards kick.
The difference for the winner lay in the manoeuvres that the Frenchman showed. Powerful floaters, cut backs and vertical moves to lift the longboard over the crest of the wave. He even put on a helicopter or 360 when one of his waves ended by standing on the nose, lifting the tail and spinning 360 degrees to the delight of the crowd. In a short space of time, he scored 15 points, improving slightly with each new wave and finishing with 15.90 points. His rival tried everything, but he couldn't find a wave that would allow him to reach 9 points, as he did in the semi-final against Mathieu Carpentier, the older brother of the new champion. It was close: Inoue ended up with 14.43 points on the scoresheet.
Kaede Inoue wins the Longoard title
After Taka Inoue had already taken the SUP Surf title and Sakura had won the U21 category, this Saturday Kaede Inoue added the third world title for her family at the SUP ProAm on Gran Canaria. In the final, Kaede faced Julieta Rodríguez-Villamil, a 15-year-old talent from Cádiz, who finished third in the junior category and showed an outstanding performance in the most important category, the performances. Julieta won her semi-final just a few seconds before the final signal, creating one of the biggest surprises of the day. In the final, she was unable to beat her rival, who had much more experience. Kaede was very active and coped perfectly with the rhythm of the wave in Los Muellitos. She showed a great performance and won with a wave of 8.50 points and another of 7.40.
Liam Dunkerbeck in the final despite travelling stress
The Spanish championship was on the programme at the end of the Gran Canaria ProAm. Liam Dunkerbeck, current PWA Windsurfing U20 World Champion, was at the start but had a major fatigue handicap straight after his 30-hour journey back from Hawaii. He fought and made it to the final against Juan de los Reyes, Leonardo Gimenes and Guillermo Robledo, with the first two taking centre stage. The fight between the two was only decided in the final seconds. Juan de los Reyes was in the lead with four minutes to go, but the tack was to turn once more. Leonardo rode an excellent wave that earned him eight points, the highest in the series, and completed a powerful turn to return with a virtually vertical re-entry. The Brazilian from Granada finished the competition with 15.17 points compared to Juan de los Reyes' 11 points and was crowned Spanish champion
We want to return next year with even more spectacle!" (Björn Dunkerbeck, organiser)
The organiser of the Gran Canaria ProAM 2024, Björn Dunkerbeck, described the event as a success. "We had good waves and very good competition. We have young people who have been in the final rounds, close to the top places, and who are a guarantee for the future. All the competitors have told me that they want to come back next year and that's great. So we have to work hard and work well, together with all the sponsors, so that we can come back next year with even more spectacle."