Multiple world champion Nia Suardiaz (ESP) and Christopher MacDonald (USA) won the GWA Big Air Wingfoil World Championships Gran Canaria 2024 by a narrow margin and delivered one of the most exciting finals in the history of the World Tour.
Suardiaz strikes back
Nia Suardiaz already had a subscription to victories in 2023 - but at the Big Air premiere in Pozo, she surprisingly lost out to Spain's Mar de Arce. And in 2024, the two rivals faced off again in the final. It was a fast-paced final in which the lead kept changing hands. The 2023 world champion, Mar de Arce (ESP), took the lead early on, but Suardiaz did not let up and performed high airs with final 360s. De Arce took the lead again with a 7.2-metre jump, but Suardiaz had the last word. In the end, de Arce was just 0.07 points behind after the final attempts and Suardiaz won with 14.87 out of a possible 20 points. Germany's Maria Behrens came third, less than one point behind, and Viola Lippitsch from Austria came fourth with 9.26 points.
MacDonald Lord of the Skies at the World Cup Pozo
The men's big air final guaranteed a showdown between the best riders of the moment: Chris MacDonald faced the two Frenchmen Malo Guénolé and Bastien Escofet, while the current runner-up Benjamin May from Germany completed the final heat. It was therefore clear that there would be a new champion even before the green flag, as Julien Tattotti, the 2023 world champion, had already been eliminated in the semi-finals.
May, who is known for his huge front flips, didn't let himself down and performed front flips at the 8-metre mark. The fact that he didn't get within striking distance was simply down to the performance of his competitors: Bastien Escofet and Malo Guénolé rotated their delayed front flips at a height of over ten (!) metres. And MacDonald? He performed the first double backflip ever shown in the contest right at the start. And because it was so beautiful, he repeated this move three more times in the course of the final - so the training on the Hood River at home in Oregon paid off:
It's impressive how much the level has changed since last year. But after the first double, I knew I could do it and it was easier after that
You can watch the final in full length again here:
Wingfoil World Cup Pozo 2024 - the results
Women
- Nia Suardiaz (ESP)
- Mar de Arce (ESP)
- Maria Behrens (GER)
- Viola Lippitsch (AUT)
Men
- Christopher MacDonald (USA)
- Malo Guénolé (FRA)
- Bastien Escofet (FRA)
- Benjamin May (GER)
