PWA interview: Johan Søe on dominance, motivation and world championship titles

Johan Søe has built up a remarkable record over the past two years. The Dane has won the last four PWA events he has taken part in - two each in 2024 and 2025. His dominance is not only evident in the victories, but also in the way he takes them. In Japan 2024, he won all four eliminations, and in 2025 he won 77 per cent of all eliminations. Despite these successes, the 22-year-old has yet to win a world title. The reason: his parallel focus on the Olympic iQFOiL class prevents him from participating in the full PWA World Tour.

• Why are you so good here? - Three questions for Johan Søe

Meticulous preparation and personal routines

"I was super happy with how both events went," explains Søe about his Siegen in Germany and Japan. "It's always exciting to compete against the other guys for the first time in a season." The first season with the material of his new sponsor Patrik was particularly exciting. The change of sponsor took place after extensive testing in Australia, where Søe tried out the equipment together with Patrik and Alex Cousin. "The switch felt pretty easy," says the Dane. "I went to Australia to test the Patrik equipment before I signed the contract to make sure I could perform with it." The decision was ultimately easy, as he felt good on the material almost immediately. He really enjoyed his time testing with the team.

The secret of Søe's success lies in meticulous preparation. "I think I had a really good set-up with all my equipment," he explains about his consistency. He invests a lot of time before the events to set everything up and understand how the equipment works and how best to combine different sails, wings and boards. This gives him a lot of confidence for competitions. At each event, he also tries to find a little extra advantage over the last one. As soon as the racing starts, he takes it race by race - and of course always goes for the win. His routine is also evident in the fact that he is always the first rider on the water. "I like to follow my own routines and do whatever makes me feel as prepared as possible," says Søe. There are many things to check before a race day: which equipment to use, how the water feels, which setup works best for the conditions and also that he is properly warmed up.

Between PWA and Olympia

The double burden of the PWA World Tour and iQFOiL characterises Søe's career. "I've been very motivated for iQFOiL over the last two seasons - and I still am," he explains. This has taken up a lot of his time with training and major events such as the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Aarhus. Unfortunately, this made it impossible for him to take part in the entire PWA World Tour. When asked about his motivation to win world titles, he replies: "It's definitely something I'm thinking about. But I think it will happen sooner or later." So far, the combination of both disciplines has been important to him. "I've been really happy with the variety of both disciplines so far," says Søe. Each of them gives him something that he can use in the other. It has also been important for him to stay motivated and not get bored by focussing on just one discipline.

I think I'll be world champion sooner or later."

Søe's training programme is intense. "There isn't really a normal week for me, as I travel a lot and am often out of my usual routines," he explains. Nevertheless, he tries to maintain a solid base with physical training - strength and endurance - around four to five times a week on average. He also spends a lot of time on the water during most of the year. During intensive phases, he can go on the water twice a day for weeks on end, while the winter months in Denmark are a little more relaxed. Søe has clear goals for 2026: "My dream would be to make a full PWA Foil World Tour possible alongside my iQFOiL calendar - and to win the title." He is critical of the rule changes for 2026. He was pretty happy with the 2025 rules. In general, he doesn't think it's good to make rule changes every year. The reduction of the largest sail from 9.0 to 8.0 square metres will increase the wind limit, which in his opinion is already too high.

• You can read the whole interview here: pwaworldtour.com