Since this season, the GWA Wingfoil World Tour has added another exciting facet to the discipline of wave. The stop in Dakhla/Morocco was the third and final wave event of the year after Sal/Cape Verde and Saquarema/Brazil. The athletes were not disappointed in Morocco either, with several days of suitable wave conditions with moderate wind and waves up to two metres high.
Drama with the ladies
The decision for the women's World Championship title was dramatic. The German-Spanish athlete Nia Suardiaz and the American Moona White were tied on points before the start of the event. This meant that whoever came out on top at the World Cup Dakhla would be the world champion. In the semi-finals, the two rivals went head-to-head. It was a heat full of drama that would have been worthy of a final. Whyte got off to a dominant start and achieved two good wave scores before crashing on a wave and breaking her leash. She lost the wing and valuable time - time that Suardiaz used to take the lead. Seconds before the end, however, White managed to bag another high score (6.90 points) - it was the wave to the world title:
I really can't believe it at the moment. I'm kind of shocked, but incredibly happy to have won the first World Championship title in the wave
The victory against Suardiaz secured Whyte a place in the final against Bowien Van der Linden in addition to the World Championship title. Whyte showed why she had already become world champion: fluid rides in which she skilfully linked the individual sections of the wave and turns in the steepest part of the wave were too much for Van der Linden, who completed the podium in the world championship standings with second place in Dakhla.
Berzolla wins the Dakhla World Cup, Brito the World Championship title
The US American Cash Berzolla, who had already won the second World Cup in Brazil, was also surfing in a league of his own in Dakhla. Fluid wave rides, air manoeuvres and 360s on the wave face left little doubt as to who would win the Dakhla World Cup. The fact that Berzola still had no chance of winning the World Cup title was only due to the fact that he had missed the first event in Cape Verde. The same applied to Malo Guénolé from France, whose lack of points from the first event robbed him of any chance of winning the title. However, this did not stop Guénolé from destroying his compatriot Clement Roseyro's chances of winning the World Championship when the two went head-to-head.
And so, with every round he survived, Cape Verdean Wesley Brito emerged as another candidate for the world title. However, Brito still had to survive a quarter-final heat against Frenchman Noe Cuyala. But Brito lost and the title seemed to be gone. However, Cuyala had used his power handle in an air manoeuvre on the wave against the rules. Brito's protest was therefore upheld and the heat was repeated. This time too, Brito initially had problems keeping up with Cuyala's pace. While Cuyala rode wave and wave, Brito waited patiently for a bigger set instead. This came shortly before the end of the heat and Brito knew how to capitalise on it - a 9.0-point score was enough for victory in this heat and the World Championship title:
It's the best thing that's ever happened to me in wingfoiling. I've always wanted to surf waves. Now to win a world title in waves is just a dream come true
Brito's party was short-lived, as he was soon back on the water for his semi-final. He came up against Cash Berzolla, who was surfing in top form and whose electrifying style he could no longer find a way to counter. The final of the World Cup Dakhla thus turned into a clash between Berzolla and the Frenchman Malo Guénolé. During the 25-minute deciding heat, they fought a close battle with new tricks and only marginal differences on the scoreboard. Berzolla's massive wave score of 9.57 ultimately ensured that he came out on top by 0.21 points. Berzolla:
It was close in the final, too close for my liking. He beat me in Brazil, so it feels good to be able to return the favour.
You can watch the highlights of the World Cup Dakhla again in the following clip:
GWA Wingfoil Wave Men World Champion 2023
- Wesley Brito (CPV)
- Hugo Marin (FRA)
- Cash Berzolla (USA)
GWA Wingfoil Wave Women World Champion 2023
- Moona Whyte (USA)
- Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
- Bowien van der Linden (NED)
Results GWA Wingfoil World Cup Dakhla 2023 Men
- Cash Berzolla (USA)
- Malo Guénolé (FRA)
- Axel Gerard (FRA)
- Wesley Brito (CPV)
Results GWA Wingfoil World Cup Dakhla 2023 Women
- Moona Whyte (USA)
- Bowien van der Linden (NED)
- Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
- Orane Ceris(FRA)
You can find the complete rankings of the GWA Wingfoil World Tour here HERE . This marks the end of the season for the wave specialists. The freestylers will compete against each other again at the World Cup Tarifa from 11 to 14 October. We'll keep you up to date.
