Aruba PWA Youth Slalom: De Jong trio on the podium, Brendan Lorho in a class of his own

The Aruba Hi-Winds PWA Youth Slalom 2025 came to an end with an action-packed final day. In winds of over 25 knots, four final eliminations in various age categories were held on the last day of competition. There were no more changes in the foil classifications: Kasper Friis Nielsen won the boys' category ahead of Brendan Lorho and Benedikt Emser, while Bobbi-Lynn de Jong won the girls' category ahead of her sister Kit and Louise van der Meulen.

The winner of the boys' U21 fin class was also already decided before the final day. Nevertheless, Brendan Lorho from FMX Racing / S2Maui put in an impressive performance and won all of the day's races. His level was clearly above that of the competition. Nicolai Storm on Starboard tried to challenge Lorho, but was unable to keep up. Nevertheless, it was a successful start to the U21 division for Storm. There was a close race for the final podium place, which was ultimately won by Local Tame Mondria. Mario Boekstegers, the only German starter in this category, finished fourth.

Tycho Smits wins U17, Arxon Gomperts U15

The U17 boys' class offered pure excitement right up to the last race. Tycho Smits from Future Fly / Point-7 had already secured overall victory with a dominant performance. However, Sontje Alberto and Olivier van Sisseren fought a thrilling duel for second and third place right up to the last race. The race ended dramatically for van Sisseren, who suffered a calf injury in a crash on the last run and had to be taken to hospital.

Promising talents were on show in the younger age groups. Arxon Gomperts from Future Fly / Point-7 dominated the U15 boys' category, while Joey Ross on Starboard / Severne Sails showed enormous progress compared to last year and is considered a hope for the future. The performance of Jeffery Dijkhoff, who has only been windsurfing for a year, was also remarkable. In the U13 class, Julien Blom and Mattheo Nobels fought exciting duels, even though there was no official podium due to the low number of participants.

Drama in the U21 girls, all De Jong sisters on the podium

The girls' U21 class probably provided the most exciting competition of the event. Everything was still wide open before the final day. Overall winner Bobbi-Lynn De Jong from Starboard / NeilPryde made her first mistake of the week, but this didn't change the final result. Her sisters Kit and Lone shone in the strong wind conditions. Lone made it onto the podium with a win in the first race of the day. The following three races saw spectacular crashes and by far the most exciting races of the event. Louise van der Meulen narrowly missed out on the podium despite a strong performance, although her performance was particularly impressive in view of the school examinations taking place at the same time.

Results PWA Youth Slalom Aruba

U13 boys fin

1. Julien Blom
2. Mattheo Nobels

U15 boys fin

1. Arxon Gomperts
2. Joey Ross
3. Jeffery Dijkhoff

U17 boys fin

1. Tycho Smits
2. Sontje Alberto
3. Olivier van Sisseren

U21 boys fin

1. Brendan Lorho
2. Storm Nicolai
3. Tame Mondria
4. Mario Boekstegers
5. David van der Varst
6. Dixon ten Lohuis
7. Sem Kruse
8. Jacek Garncarz

U21 girls fin

1. Bobbi-Lynn de Jong
2. Kit de Jong
3. Lone de Jong
4. Louise van der Meulen

U21 Boys Foil

1. Kasper Friis Nielsen
2. Brendan Lorho
3. Benedikt Emser
4. Tycho Smits
5. Storm Nicolai
6. Mario Boekstegers
7. Jack Drulard
8. Jacek Garncarz

U21 Girls Foil

1. Bobbi-Lynn de Jong
2. Kit de Jong
3. Louise van der Meulen
4. Lone de Jong