GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura: Schlittenbauer and MacDonald triumph in Surf Freestyle

The 37th Fuerteventura World Cup kicked off with a bang as the GWA Wingfoil World Tour took to the windy shores of Sotavento. The event once again proved to be the perfect stage for the world's best wingfoilers, who competed in the Surf Freestyle and FreeFly Slalom disciplines. The youngest athletes on the tour in particular took the opportunity to put their skills to the test. A total of 29 men and 17 women competed in challenging conditions. Each athlete had six attempts, with the three best scores being included in the overall score. The judges assessed height, amplitude and technical difficulty, with clean execution and precise landings being decisive for high scores.

Dramatic decisions in the men's competition

The competition picked up in Round 3 as some big names stumbled and had to fight their way through Round 4. Italy's Rocco Makana and Austria's Lukas Lam put in strong performances to move into Round 5, leaving Noe Cuyala and Francesco Cappuzzo on the sidelines. Local favourites Ancor Sosa and Leo Suardiaz prevailed in a nerve-wracking heat, relegating Riccardo Zorzi and Xavi Corr to the back of the pack.

Nathan Berger and Benjamin May secured places in the quarter-finals by eliminating Noe Mercier and Martin Tieles. The last two quarter-final places went to Britain's Charlie Loch and reigning world champion Chris MacDonald, who scored a perfect 10 points with a breathtaking frontside 14. Ezio Bastianelli and Sacha Pallier were eliminated.

Malo Guénolé shone in his quarter-final with a series of highly rated tricks, including an incredible double palau, which was rewarded with 9 points. The jury demanded height and clean execution - and Malo delivered. Tom Acherer and Chris MacDonald also dominated their heats, taking out Lukas Lam and Clement Hamon, who both rode strongly. The third quarter-final was a thriller, with all four riders within one point of each other. Charlie Loch took first place, but the real drama unfolded between Luca Vuillermet, Aleks Acherer and Rocco Makana. Vuillermet and Acherer were tied, but Vuillermet progressed due to the tie-break rule. In the last quarter-final, tour leader Benjamin Castenskiold initially had difficulties and crashed on his first three tricks. But he made an impressive comeback with a double Palau, which was scored with 9.5 points, took the lead again and advanced to the semi-finals together with Benjamin May.

The most intense heats in Wingfoil history

In the first semi-final, Malo Guénolé and Tomas Acherer took an early lead ahead of Benjamin May and Luca Vuillermet. Tomas impressed with superior height and execution, securing first place, while Malo was over the moon to reach his first surf freestyle final of 2025.

The second semi-final was a spectacular duel. Axel Gerard, Chris MacDonald, Charlie Loch and Benjamin Castenskiold pushed the limits in one of the most intense heats in wingfoil history. With scores in the 9s range and a demonstration of frontside 10s, double palaus and palau frontside 7s, it was almost too close to call. Benjamin Castenskiold progressed with an almost perfect 29.20 points, followed by Chris MacDonald. Gerard and Loch narrowly missed out on the final despite excellent performances.

The four finalists - Malo Guénolé, Benjamin Castenskiold, Chris MacDonald and Tomas Acherer - were hungry for victory. The heat began with outstanding 9-point tricks from MacDonald and Castenskiold. MacDonald opened with his signature frontside 10, which Castenskiold countered, with Chris' execution outdoing that of his rival. Guénolé stayed close, while Acherer struggled at the beginning but came back with a spectacular Palau Frontside 7, which scored 9.43 points. The heat remained exciting until the end, but MacDonald's consistency and style secured him the win. Castenskiold took second place, Guénolé was third and Acherer fourth. Once again, this competition showed the incredible evolution of surf freestyle wingfoiling.

Schlittenbauer pushes the boundaries in the women's competition

The women's competition also had its surprises in round 3, with Bowien van der Linden being eliminated by Sofia Marchetti, who narrowly beat her. Tour leader Mar de Arce also failed to progress, while Zara Maillard and Milla Danguy advanced. In the semi-finals, Kylie Belloeuvre started strongly, but it was Manon Dupe who briefly led with a clean palau. However, Austria's Viola Lippitsch found her rhythm and climbed to the top, securing a place in the final along with Dupe. Milla Danguy narrowly missed out and Kylie ended up in fourth place after several crashes.

The second women's semi-final made history: Marie Schlittenbauer delivered one of the best female performances of all time. She landed a 9.43-point palau frontside 3 and a palau-to-palau combination, which was awarded the highest score of 10 points. She even landed the first backmobe in the women's competition - although this was scored low due to a messy landing. While Marie secured her place in the final, the battle raged between Sofia Marchetti, Zara Maillard and world champion Nia Suardiaz. Just as Nia looked set to progress, Zara landed a clean back flip with 6.17 points, knocking out the reigning world champion and reaching her first ever freestyle final.

The women's final

The final took place in lighter wind conditions in the late afternoon. Zara Maillard looked calm and composed in her final debut and was clearly enjoying the moment. Marie Schlittenbauer continued her dominant form, landing another 9.43-point trick and a perfect 10-point combination, securing her first GWA podium finish at just 15 years old - an outstanding performance in only her second World Cup event. Zara Maillard fought hard to keep Viola Lippitsch at bay and narrowly secured second place - also her first GWA podium finish. Viola finished third and Manon Dupe took fourth place after a strong event.

Results GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura Surf Freestyle

Gents

1. Chris MacDonald
2. Benjamin Castenskiold
3. Malo Guenole
4. Tom Acherer

Ladies

1. Marie Schlittenbauer
2. Zara Maillard
3. Viola Lippitsch
4. Manon Dupé