On the way to the final, the local heroes - Takara Ishii against Takuma Sugi - went head-to-head on the second day. The numerous spectators on the beach were at least as energised as the protagonists on the water, who set off real fireworks in what were once again good conditions with a strong sideshore wind and bright sunshine.
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In the end, Takara Ishii was able to defeat the current number one of Japanese wave surfing, Takuma Sugi, and secure his place in the final. Antoine Martin is also in the final four, but it took a resurrection from the dead to get there: Martin surfed a bad heat in the semi-final, didn't get any jumps and only had a single wave ride on the scoresheet with two minutes to go: "I was exhausted and about to give up, because there were only two minutes left on the clock and I'd had a terrible heat so far. As I headed back towards the shore, I grabbed a wave, put all my eggs in one basket and risked a goiter. I landed it and thought that maybe something could still work out. And that's what happened."
Antoine Martin actually caught fire again, topped up his jump score and clinched a place in the final at the last minute, where the number one seed, world champion Marcilio Browne, and local hero Takara Ishii await him. Rookie Jahdan Tyger from Brazil, who had put in a great performance since the start of the event and even won a heat against Antoine Martin in the first few rounds, did not quite make it through. However, Tyger will certainly be able to live with fifth place in his first World Cup.
The grand finale was then postponed due to the dying winds. However, if the forecasts are correct, there should still be plenty of opportunity to see all the results in the coming days. Stay tuned!
World Cup Omaezaki - what happened on day 1
The 4-star PWA/IWT event in Omaezaki got off to a windy start. Sato won the women's event.
Day 1 at the IWT/PWA World Cup Japan couldn't have gone better. 30 knots of wind, sunshine - the spot in Omaezaki was at its best right at the start of the first World Cup event in 2025. Compared to the previous year, the setup on site was slimmed down a little, as the 2025 World Cup Omaezaki is "only" a 4-star event. For the participants, this means that there are fewer World Cup points up for grabs here than at the 5-star events in Chile, Pozo, Sylt, Tenerife or Maui. This also explains why only a few top favourites made the trip to Japan. Nevertheless, there are some big-name riders at the start - above all world champion Marcilio Browne and his new team-mate Antoine Martin.
Sato and Browne set the bar
The women's World Cup Omaezaki turned into an all-Asian event. As in the previous year, local heroine Motoka Sato, now 52 years old, was no match for her. Powerful top turns, uncompromising wave selection and solid loops left no doubt as to who would end up at the top of the podium.
In the men's event, four-time champion Marcilio Browne set the bar very high in the very first heat - the Brazilian can do cutbacks with lots of spray, wave moves and double loops on both sides with equal confidence. But another Brazilian also made a name for himself: Jahdan Tyger, who lives and trains in Jericoacoara, returned to the World Wave Tour after a two-year injury break and caused quite a stir. Finally back in top form, he has plans to take part in the 4-star events in 2025 and work his way up the rankings. Without any good results from previous years, Tyger was faced with a real heavyweight in Antoine Martin in the main round, but was even able to win the 4-way heat ahead of Martin - both went one round further.
This Wednesday, the IWT/PWA Omaezaki will go down to the wire when Browne, Martin and local heroes Takara Ishii and Takuma Sugi race for victory. We will let you know as soon as the final results are available.
