Sunday, 03 April 2011 10:23

It was a great final day in Dakhla, Morocco. Riders prepared their 10-14m kites for the continuation of the men and women freestyle double eliminations, which began early this morning under cloudy skies with winds averaging 15 knots. The conditions were stable for the last round of heats.


The women kicked off the final day of competition as Kari Schibevaag (Ozone, NOR) battled Asia Litwin (Nobile, POL) in the first heat of the day. Schibevaag broke her kite leash on her first trick therefore Litwin advanced to the next heat against Karolina Winkowska (Slingshot, POL). It was a great heat for the two Polish riders however Winkowska takes the win due to her cleaner landings, kite position, technical difficulty such as a switch blind judge and blind judge 3. Winkowska advanced to challenge Gisela Pulido (Airush, ESP). Pulido eliminated Winkowska in a 5/0 judge’s decision due to more technical difficulty and variety of tricks such as an air back to blind and a kite loop slim chance which is a very technical trick for women competitors. Pulido went on to the final heat to face Bruna Kajiya (Flexifoil, BRA). It was a close heat with a 3/2 judge’s decision in favor of Kajiya. Kajiya’s power, speed and execution of tricks such as a switch blind judge, air back to blind with a grab and kite loop with a 360 rotation won over Pulido’s kite loop slim chance, switch 313 and front low mobe enabling Kajiya first place in the freestyle double eliminations while Pulido finished in second.

It was an exciting final round of men’s freestyle. Alberto Rondina (Cabrinha, ITA) eliminated Tom Hebert (North, NCL) in the first men’s heat of the day advancing him to the next heat against Andy Yates (Slingshot, AUS). Yates defeated Rondina in a 5/0 judge’s decision due to his variety of switch tricks, kite position, speed and power such as a S-Bend pass landing toeside (S3), front mobe to blind and KGB to blind. Yates moved up the ladder to challenge Alex Pastor (Airush, ESP). It was a very close heat however Yates takes the win for variety and execution of tricks such as his powered front mobe to blind and S3 over Pastor’s front mobe, blind judge 3, air back to blind, switch low mobe and KGB -180. Yates moved up the ladder to face Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED) in the men’s final. It was a close heat however Zoon was on fire with his double set of trick combo’s such as a back mobe, 313, blind judge 3 and non-inverted slim chance then a front mobe, switch blind judge 3 and non-inverted slim chance, defeating Yates in a 5/0 judges decision due to variety, technical difficulty and better execution of tricks.

A couple of attempts to resume the wave double elimination came to an end shortly after 2:00pm due to the light wind conditions. An award ceremony to announce the event winners was held at the Dakhla-Attitude campsite where the local press, officials, government executives, as well riders and crew attended.

FREESTYLE RESULTS

MEN
1. Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NED)
2. Andy Yates (Slingshot, AUS)
3. Alex Pastor (Airush, ESP)
4. Alberto Rondina (Cabrinha, ITA)

WOMEN
1. Bruna Kajiya (Flexifoil, BRA)
2. Gisela Pulido (Airush, ESP)
3. Karolina Winkowska (Slingshot, POL)
4. Asia Litwin (Nobile, POL)

WAVE RESULTS

MEN
1. Keahi De Aboitiz (Cabrinha, AUS)
2. Airton Cozzolino (North, CPV)
3. Abel Lago (RRD, ESP)

WOMEN
1. Kari Schibevaag (Ozone, NOR)
2. Angela Peral (North, ESP)
3. Ainhoa Garcia (Ozone, ESP)