PWA Japan preview: World Championship decider in Japan - favourites, chances and past dramas

"Japan can be anything," said world championship leader Justine Lemeteyer in a surf interview ahead of the season finale. At the last PWA event of the year in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, the world titles in foil slalom will be awarded. And the World Cup in Japan has shown in recent years that unforeseen things can always happen there.

In 2022, Maciek Rutkowski went into the final day as the leader, but then retired early - and had to tremble for hours on the beach for his coveted first title. Last year, everything seemed clear before the windless final day and shooting star Johan Soe was the new world champion, but a measurement showed that the Dane had a sail that did not comply with the rules. Discussion, disqualification and Matteo Iachino was suddenly world champion after all. For the women, Japan is obviously an ideal place to start the World Cup: in 2022, Justine Lemeteyer finished second on her debut and was runner-up (there was only one event for the women at the time), while in 2023 freestyler Lina Erzen won her first Slalom World Cup from a standing start.

Ladies: Justine Lemeteyer in top position

What can we expect this year at the Fly! ANA Windsurfing World Cup this year? Erzen is back after her Olympic campaign and could shake up the women's field, just like Sara Wennekes from the Netherlands. "That makes it even more exciting because both are very good. Instead of three, there will be five women fighting at the front, which could be decisive for the ranking," estimates Justine Lemeteyer. The 22-year-old Frenchwoman goes into the World Championship final as the leader, having won the two previous events ahead of Marion Mortefon and Blanca Alabau.

If Lemeteyer finishes ahead of her two rivals, she will be world champion. But even if Mortefon wins, it will be enough for her if she finishes no worse than third. If last year's world champion Blanca Alabau wins, Lemeteyer should finish no worse than fifth to still take the title. The gap between the top three riders is currently 200 points, so if Lemeteyer continues her current season form and doesn't make any major mistakes, that will be a solid cushion.

• Justine Lemeteyer: "We are considered top athletes in France" - an interview with the World Cup favourite

Marion Mortefon and Blanca Alabau on the lookout

Should Lemeteyer finish fourth, Mortefon would have to win the competition to secure the World Championships. Should Lemeteyer finish fifth, second place would be enough for Marion Mortefon to win. Should Lemeteyer finish sixth, Mortefon would have to finish third or better to secure the world title.

Given Lemeteyer's dominance, it is unlikely that Blanca Alabau will be able to defend her world championship title from last year, but it is certainly mathematically possible. With 27 starters, there are certainly enough opportunities to put a spanner in the works for Lemeteyer and Mortefon. For Alabau to become world champion again, Lemeteyer would have to finish sixth or worse, Mortefon fourth or worse, and she herself would have to win the event.

Men: Will Pierre Mortefon do the double on foil and fin?

The men also only have three foil events this year, after which Pierre Mortefon leads the rankings. The Frenchman has already won the first Slalom X title in history and has the best chance of doing the double with foil and fin. Although he has yet to win an event on the foil this year, two second places are impressive proof of his consistency. Only 100 points behind Mortefon is Fuerte winner Daniele Benedetti, and these two are likely to decide the title between them. If the Italian finishes ahead of Mortefon in Japan, he could become world champion for the first time.

Enrico Marotti, who is currently 500 points behind in third place in the annual rankings, only has a chance of winning the World Championship if Mortefon finishes a maximum of eighth and Benedetti a maximum of seventh. Behind the three front-runners is the reigning world champion Matteo Iachino, who is hoping to end the season with a sense of achievement after his disappointing ninth place on Sylt. He is followed by last year's winner Amado Vrieswijk, both of whom could shake up the rankings with good performances, as could Maciek Rutkowski, Bruno Martini and Jordy Vonk.

Johan Søe in focus

Johan Søe will also be the centre of attention. Not only whether all the seams on his sails are in line with the series, but above all after his victory on Sylt. There he was never worse than third place. The Dane is currently hard to beat, but was not at the start due to his participation in the Olympics on Fuerte and therefore has no World Championship chances this year. But Soe is fast, confident and hungry and will be particularly motivated after last year's rules drama.

• Søe disqualified! Matteo Iachino and Blanca Alabau are world champions
• What the PWA, Point-7, Johan Søe and Matteo Iachino have to say about the sailing drama in Japan
• PWA inside: How sails, boards and co. are controlled in the World Cup

Nico Prien and Michele Becker are the only German starters travelling to Japan and are currently in ninth and twelfth place respectively. The gaps to the top are particularly small for Prien, who can still work his way up if he achieves a strong result. Becker should at least be able to overtake Fabian Wolf, who is not travelling to Japan.

The PWA World Cup in Japan runs from 8 to 12 November, the spot in the south of Tokyo with the breathtaking panorama of Mount Fuji is eight hours ahead of our time. Accordingly, the races will take place in the early hours of the morning. The forecast promises good foil conditions, especially from Saturday to Monday!