After the successful start of the GWA Wingfoil World Tour in Leucate, the wingsurfing elite are currently meeting at theEnsis Engadinwing by DaKineat Lake Silvaplana in Switzerland. On the very first day of the event, the thermals kicked in as desired and set the 62-strong field on fire. The regatta organisers decided to start with the women's freestyle contest.
It was eagerly awaited whether the 15-year-old surprise winner of the Leucate event, Nia Suardiaz ( HERE there's an interview with Nia) would be able to build on her success. A few hours later, the answer was clear: almost, but not quite!
The young German-Spanish athlete was only stopped in the final by the Czech Paula Novotna, who narrowly beat Suardiaz (19.0 points) with 21.8 points.
The small final for third place was won by Flora Artzner from France ahead of Maaike Huvermann from the Netherlands. The latter showed that she will not only be able to deliver on the windsurf freestyle board in the future, but also wants to have a say in the Wingfoil World Cup soon.
As the wind continued to blow after the finals, the men's freestyle contest was also started. However, the Ensis Engadinwing did not manage more than the first few rounds on this day. The exclamation mark of the day was set by co-favourite Balz Müller at his home event, who took home the title with his signature moveRadiculo-720 the highest score of the day.
The forecast for the coming days promises more freestyle action and exciting races in the disciplineSurf Race. We will report back.
Here's a short highlight clip from the first day of the Ensis Engadinwing!
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
