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35th Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup Pozo Izquierdo - Day 2

by Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup 2 Jul 2023 21:49 BST 1-9 July 2023
Iballa Ruano (ESP) and Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU) during the Women Wave elimination - Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup © Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup

The local rider once again holds the crown provisionally after defeating the twenty-time world champion, Sarah-Quita Offringa, who reached the final this time after a tight heat against Iballa Ruano.

With slightly more moderate conditions, although not dropping below 25 knots, during the second day in Pozo Izquierdo, all eyes were once again on the Moreno Twins during the qualifiers of the women's Waves category, as well as on their main adversary in Pozo Izquierdo, the twenty-time world champion, Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU), who managed to reach the final this year to challenge the queen of Pozo, Daida Ruano (ESP). However, Daida once again retained the crown at home provisionally during the single elimination. "This first place is the culmination after long training hours. I am very happy to be on top, even though I'm used to being up there, it's not always easy," said the windsurfer.

The 18-time world champion admitted to being "very proud" to once again secure the top spot, but primarily because it is where she sails every day, "where I really love to practice windsurfing." In her opinion, the heats are "tightly contested from the quarterfinals to the final," and even though the conditions were "not the best," the "top four girls today were the best, and even those who didn't make it can bring a lot of surprises," exclaimed the queen of Pozo. "As my father used to say: strength, enthusiasm, and imagination," Daida concluded after stepping down from the top of the podium.

In a thrilling final, the local favorite started strong at home with an initial forward loop that was answered by the Aruban rider with the same maneuver. Although both competitors struggled to find ramps during the final, Daida kept adding points despite the small waves. However, the scores were very close, but the windsurfer from Pozo Izquierdo managed to surpass Offringa with her best ridden wave, as well as the combination of her two best jumps, finishing the heat with a beautiful tabletop forward and applause from the stands.

Daida went out on the water to show why she is known as the queen of Pozo Izquierdo, easily winning all her heats and performing maneuvers non-stop despite the challenging conditions. "Daida, as always, untouchable. You can tell she competes at home. She warmed up during the previous heats and was able to score points even when there were hardly any waves," commented Willy Rocha, the wave judge of the competition. In his opinion, the conditions didn't favor her sister, Iballa Ruano, but "if the double elimination takes place, maybe she will challenge her sister again in the final."

The final for the Aruban rider was "a challenge" due to the strong winds and "difficult" wave conditions. "For me, it's always a pleasure to sail with Iballa and Daida here in Pozo because it's their home, although it's always a challenge for me because there are super strong winds," said Sarah-Quita Offringa after coming out of the water. Nevertheless, "reaching the final meant a lot to me, and I'm very happy with the second place," concluded the current fifth-ranked woman in the world and provisional second-place finisher in Pozo.

Iballa Ruano secured a provisional third place on the Waves podium

During the highly anticipated semifinal between Iballa Ruano and Sarah-Quita Offringa, the local rider started with a clean forward loop, energizing the atmosphere in the stands. The heat was so closely contested that both competitors remained tied for several minutes, although Iballa managed to take the lead by a few tenths halfway through the heat thanks to the score obtained from her ridden waves. Finally, in the last minute, Offringa received 7.38 points after performing a backloop that took her directly to the final against Daida Ruano.

Iballa maintained the third-place position after defeating the Polish rider Justyna Sniady, whom she surpassed in both jumps and ridden waves. "The level of the girls is very high, and I'm super happy to have finished third in the single elimination, but there's still the double elimination, and we have a long week ahead," said the local rider. "I'm happy because I haven't been able to train here in Pozo Izquierdo for a long time due to various reasons, including injuries, but I'm also extremely proud that my sister won. A third place is incredible for me," added the 10-time world champion.

The young German rider, Lina Erpenstein, the highest-flying windsurfer

Simultaneously with the PWA Windsurfing World Championship, Pozo Izquierdo is once again hosting the Red Bull Rockets competition, which measures the highest jumps of the riders through a specialized app. After the opening day of the women's Waves category, surprisingly, it wasn't Daida Ruano who achieved the highest jump, but the young German rider, Lina Erpenstein, who currently leads the rankings with a jump of 5.3 meters in height.

The "home of the wind" favors the start of the double elimination in the men's Waves

The favorable wind conditions that prevailed on Sunday afternoon in Pozo Izquierdo have also allowed the first heats of the double elimination in the men's Waves to take place. The finals are expected to continue on Monday, depending on the conditions. It should be noted that the double elimination could bring a turnaround in the final standings, in which Marino Gil (who finished second in the single elimination behind Marcilio Browne) could claim victory in the Gran Canaria Windsurf World Cup.

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