IWT Pacasmayo Classic: Antoine Martin and Jessica Crisp win on the endless wave
Tobias Frauen
· 04.09.2023
Pacasmayo in Peru has the reputation of being one of the longest waves in the world. The spot with the characteristic lighthouse is a dream destination for wave surfers from all over the world, and the IWT has often organised contests here. This year, the event was part of the joint wave tour with the PWA, but only with a four-star status. This means that the result plays a rather minor role in the ranking, meaning that some top riders decided not to make the trip to South America.
Marcilio Browne, Antoine Martin, Fiji winner Baptiste Cloarec, Julian Salomonn and Florian Jung from Germany, Takara and Hayata Ishii from Japan, Bernd Roediger and Morgan Noireaux from Hawaii and several others did not miss out on the trip to Pacasmayo. The IWT crew of Jessica Crisp, Jane Seman, Coco Foveau and Sarah Hauser took part in the women's race. Alexia Kiefer Quintana and Sol Degrieck, two of the biggest young talents, were also there.
The first round of the men's event could be ridden right at the start of the event, before things calmed down a little for a few days. But for the main round, an enormous swell rolled in on the Pacific coast, producing waves that were well over mast-high in places. Antoine Martin, who had initially failed in the first round, worked his way through the repechage round to the final and took victory like a windsurfing fairytale. "What a day! The win was something very special!" he enthused afterwards. Pozo winner Marcilio Browne finished in second place, followed by Italian Federico Morisio in third. Only o.25 points were between him and the winner, that's how close the final was.
Federico Morisio finishes third after wash cycle
Morisio could have got even further ahead with a little less bad luck: "After my first two waves, a 7.00 and an 8.20, I was actually in the lead but got washed by a wave and my board and rig separated! I lost my board and started swimming with just my rig, with wave after wave slapping me upside the head. After literally 10 minutes of swimming and struggling not to let my rig sink, I miraculously found my board floating around, grabbed it and re-tied the sail. I was exhausted but I gave it my all to get back into the competition zone (I lost about 300 metres) but unfortunately with only 3 minutes left in the final I had no chance of catching a third wave and improving," he wrote on Instagram.
Julian Salmonn was eliminated in the semi-finals and ended up in a tie for fifth place, as did Baptiste Cloarec. Flo Jung finished in ninth place, together with Bernd Roediger and Morgan Noireaux, among others.
Jessica Crisp won the women's competition on the last day of the event. She beat Pauline Katz from Switzerland in the final, as well as 13-year-old Belgian Sol Degrieck and Jane Seman. Sol Degrieck had won her semi-final against the Australian, who is around four times her age, after losing by the narrowest of margins to Sarah Hauser in the quarter-finals. Sarah Hauser, actually one of the favourites in the big waves, was eliminated with a difference of just 0.08 points before the last round. She had travelled to Peru spontaneously and hardly had any time on the water beforehand, and also had to borrow a larger board due to the light wind. "Pacasmayo is normally a spot with light winds, but it seems that El Niño has intensified this," summarised Hauser.
Results IWT Pacasmayo Classic 2023
Gents
- 1st Antoine Martin
- 2 Marcilio Browne
- 3. Federico Morisio
- 4. Hayata Ishiii
- 5 Julian Salmonn
- 5th Baptiste Cloarec
- 7th Takuma Sugi
- 7 Takara Ishii
- 9 Flo Jung
- 9th Alex Vargas
- 9th Morgan Noireaux
- 9 Jules Denel
Ladies
- 1st Jessica Crisp
- 2. Pauline Katz
- 3 Sol Degrieck
- 4th Jane Seman
- 5 Sarah Hauser
- 5 Coraline Foveau
- 7th Line Wittrup
- 7th Alexia Kiefer Quintana
Amateurs men
- 1 Felix Bermudez
- 2 Octavio Cavalaro
- 3. Charlie Rovira
- 4th Zack Coleman
Masters
- 1st Arnaud Frennet
- 2. Adrian Levy
- 3. Nelson Perez
- 4th Charlie Rovira
