Women - Single Elimination
The Moreno twins had successfully fought their way through the semi-finals against Sarah-Quita Offringa and Justyna Sniady. So it came down to an evergreen in Pozo: Moreno vs Moreno. But reaching the final was anything but a foregone conclusion, as Sahra-Quita and Justyna put up a great fight against Iballa and Daida. In this respect, the relief for the Moreno twins after the semi-final was huge.
10 years after her first victory over Daida in Pozo, Iballa achieved this feat again at the PWA World Cup. With a great performance, she took a well-deserved victory in the single elimination. Fittingly, Iballa scored the highest score of the competition in the final, putting her back on top of the podium for the first time since 2012. For a while, it looked as though Iballa might miss out on a place in the final, as Justyna Sniady was in the lead in the final phase of her semi-final. But in the last minute, Iballa sealed the deal by catching a 5.5-point wave and turning the run on its head. In the final, Iballa got off to a solid start by landing a textbook backloop before later adding a radical one-foot forward to her scorecard, while her best wave score came in her final two waves to pull away decisively from Daida.
Iballa Moreno after her victory in the single elimination at the Gran Canaria PWA World Cup: "I can't believe it. It's been a while since I've been here in this position. The last time I competed here (2019), I finished fourth, so I was just happy to be back in the final with my sister because that was a long time ago too. The conditions were tricky but I was able to score pretty consistently and was lucky enough to find some good jumps and wave rides. I know I was lucky to win. I know Daida is the queen of Pozo, so it's really hard to beat her. I think it's only the second time I've beaten Daida in all these years, which shows how hard it is to beat her and that she's the best here."
Daida showed a strong performance against Sarah-Quita Offringa in the semi-final with 19.26 points, but could not quite match this performance in the final. Daida attempted an air taka and a frontside aerial in the final, but couldn't quite pull it off, meaning she couldn't hold a candle to Iballa this time. Nevertheless, you certainly wouldn't bet against Daida making a comeback in the double elimination.
Sarah-Quita Offringa secured the final spot on the podium after beating Justyna Sniady in the battle for third place. The woman from Aruba got off to a strong start in the heat with a 7-point push loop and took a convincing victory as the reigning world champion. Offringa must now hope for the double elimination at the PWA World Cup in order to oust the Moreno Twins from the top two spots.
Red Bull Rockets - at the PWA World Cup for the first time
During this year's competition, the best 8 women and 16 men will also take part in a separate jump contest - the Red Bull Rockets. This is a special prize awarded for the highest jump of the event. After all, 2500 euros in prize money awaits the winners. "The Red Bull Rockets will be awarded for the highest jump, so we're sure to see a great show," says PWA World Cup organiser Börn Dunkerbeck.
So far Daida Moreno is leading this competition after landing a 4.4 metre stalled forward in the semi-finals today, while Sarah-Quita Offringa is the next challenger after reaching a height of 3.9 metres on a forward loop.
The men take part in the PWA World Cup
After the completion of the women's single, the rest of the men's first round was also finished and there were no big surprises; Alessio Stillrich, Alex Grand-Guillot (Starboard / Sailloft Hamburg), Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project), Julian Flechet (Tabou / Hot Sails Maui / Black Project), Aleix Sanllehy (Goya Windsurfing), Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project), Loïck Lesauvage (Goya Windsurfing), Arthur Arutkin (Fanatic / Duotone / Black Project), Omar Sanchez (Tabou / GA Sail) and Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing) have all secured a place in the round of 32.
The first two heats of the second round could still be ridden yesterday. Josep Pons (CS Custom Boards / Point-7 / Black Project) defeated Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) in Heat 9a, while Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) prevailed in the Battle of France against Baptiste Cloarec (RRD / RRD Sails).
In the last heat of the day, Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) scored the highest score of the fourth day with 20.37 points, beating Jose Romero (Challenger Sails). Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) prevailed in a hard-fought heat against Moritz Mauch and will now face Browne in the next round.
The forecast for today (Wednesday) looks a little weaker, but the wind is expected to come more from the north-east. This will hopefully fuel the thermals and create a few waves when the tide rises in the morning.
Result 2022 Gran Canaria PWA World Cup - Women's Single Elimination
1st Iballa Ruano Moreno (ESP | Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Daida Ruano Moreno (ESP | Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Justyna Sniady (POL | North Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
5th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Alexia Kiefer Quintana (ESP | Fanatic / Duotone)
5th Marine Hunter (FRA | KA Sail)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
Info and livestream: www.pwaworldtour.com
Andreas Erbe
Chief editor surf
