After the seeding rounds were concluded on Day 1, Day 2 was full of crazy action with the competitors battling it out in challenging, gusty and choppy conditions to advance through the Women’s Round One and Men’s Round Three.

In the women’s first heat, Duotone’s latest addition to the team, Rita Arnaus (ESP), boosted herself straight into the final through a perfectly executed slim chance and some other solid moves.

Also heat two of the ladies went off the Richter: Claudia Leon (ESP, Duotone) pulled off a clean backside 313 and a slim chance, with Estefania Rosa (BRA) answering back with a frontside 313 and a Hinterberger mobe. Yet, nobody could touch Brazilian superwoman and current World Champion Mikaili Sol (BRA, Duotone), stomping out an absolutely massive slim chance 5 that scored her an 8.03 as well as landing a Hinterberger mobe 5 scoring 8.77. A performance that catapulted Mika straight into the final.

In the men’s, things really heated up with the riders sending it big time! The standout was Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA, Duotone) scoring the highest total score of the day, landing a MASSIVE frontside 319, crow mobe 5 and a slim 7 with a grab.
 

Witnessing the next generation of riders making their way onto the competition stage was super exciting too. With the two youngest competitors, Finn Flugel (GER) and Pierfrancesco Rizzello (BRA, Duotone), just 11 and 12 years old, going for backside 313´s and back mobes.

Day 3, kicked off with the women’s semi-final heats in which legend Bruna Kajiya (BRA) and Estefania Rosa (BRA) fought their way into the final.

In the men’s, the remaining 16 competitors sent it to the moon in order to get through to the semi-finals. Choppy waters and really gusty wind made solid landings super tricky and resulted in both injuries and outstanding performances.

In the final heat of the day, Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA, Duotone) was up against 12-year old Finn Flügel (GER, Core), former World Champion Valentin Rodriguez (COL, Duotone) and current World Champion Arthur Guillebert (FRA, Eleveight). Finn Flugel impressed the judges by landing some solid tricks, yet when Valentin Rodriguez stomped out a huge, clean 319 scoring a 9.0, the bar was raised yet again to another level. Answering back with a perfectly executed 319 for a 9.3, Gianmaria Coccoluto caused a major upset by eliminating the current World Champion Arthur Guillebert from the competition

The winners were crowned on the Day 4: The women’s final was a fantastic display of power, showcasing the extremely high level that women’s freestyle has reached. The wind was howling. Veteran Bruna Kajiya (BRA, North), Rita Arnaus (ESP, Duotone), Mikaili Sol (BRA, Duotone) and Estefania Rosa (BRA) were the last women standing. Once more, Mikaili Sol managed to set herself apart from the rest, throwing a colossal slim chance 5, textbook 315 and perfect Hinterberger mobe 5, securing the top spot on the podium ahead of Bruna Kajiya and Rita Arnaus.

Congratulations ladies for going so hard and pushing the envelope further and further!!

In the men’s semi-finals, Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA, Duotone), Carlos Mario (BRA), Manoel Soares (BRA) and local Juan Rodriguez (COL) stomped their way into the final, through their solid performances and highly technical moves.

The final went off the charts, with the finalists head to head throughout the entire heat. The beach was packed and the riders were feeding off the vibe going bigger and harder than in any previous heat. Massive moves were landed, which had the crowd ecstatic!

Although Gianmaria Coccoluto smashed out a super technical 319 scoring a 8.37 and a slim chance 7 scoring a 9.20 (the highest score of the heat), he didn’t succeed in landing his fourth trick. Thus, despite his killer performance, he just missed the podium, ending up in fourth position.

Manoel Soares was the man of the day. In his first ever GKA final, he kept his cool and truly sent it. With a powerful slim chance 7, 319, backside 317 and heart attack 5, he earned himself a total heat score of 30.14 that ultimately secured him the win in this event.