2024 PWA Japan World Cup

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Der 2024 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup mag zwar nicht ganz so viele Rennen wie im letzten Jahr hervorgebracht haben, aber am zweiten und dritten Tag gab es am Strand von Tsukuihama, Yokosuka, dennoch einige großartige Rennen, um die PWA Foil Slalom Weltmeister 2024 zu entscheiden. Insgesamt wurden vier Ausscheidungen für die Männer- und Frauenfleets ausgetragen, bei denen Marion Mortefon (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils) und Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7 / PATRIK Foils) die letzten Eventsiege der Saison einfuhren, während Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) und Pierre Mortefon (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) als verdiente Weltmeister vom Platz gingen.

Foil Slalom

Women

Justine Lemeteyer survived an anxious two day wait to officially be crowned the 2024 Women’s Foil Slalom PWA World Champion, which is the 22-year-olds maiden world crowned, but quite possibly not her last given how impeccably she has raced for the majority of the year. Lemeteyer understandably had a slight wobble here after finishing twelfth in Elimination 4 - which she discards. Lemeteyer won two out of the three events this year to deservedly become world champion, while she also walks away from Japan with a solid second place.

Marion Mortefon did everything in her power to deny Lemeteyer a maiden world title, but it wasn’t quite to be this time around. The former world champion raced brilliantly this week as she recorded two bullets, a second and a fourth to win the event on a total of 3.4 points, which sees her finish 2024 as the vice-world champion.

Elsewhere, last year’s world champion - Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) - completes the prestigious overall podium, while 14-year-old Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) finishes fourth in the overalls in her first full year on tour and looks a huge talent for the future.

In terms of the event, 2023 event champion, Lina Eržen (Starboard / Severne Sails) completes the event podium, but there was just 3.3 point separating third to sixth, such was the closeness of the racing here. Tamar Steinberg (Future Fly) just misses out on the podium in fourth followed by Sara Wennekes (Future Fly / Severne Sails) and Blanca Alabau respectively.

Men’s

The 2024 season couldn’t have gone any better for Pierre Mortefon, who walks away from Japan with his second world title of the season to be crowned the undisputed racing world champion having claimed the Slalom X world title earlier in the season. Mortefon has raced extremely consistently this year and he repeated that level of consistency over the last five days here with a bullet, a second, a fourth and a fifth to claim second place here.

Johan Søe started the event with a small error after jumping the gun in the semifinals of the opening elimination, but after that he didn’t put a foot wrong as he reeled off a clinical hat-trick to win his second event in a row, while finishing on a perfect score of 2.1 points. Søe looks as though he has the ability to dominate like racing legends Björn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) used to do in previous years and he looks an ominous force moving forwards. After last year’s heartbreak here, this will at least go some way to softening the blow.

Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) gave Mortefon a valiant fight for the title and must be wishing that there could've been just one more race to give him a shot at snatching the crown. The Italian recorded his best result of the event in Elimination 4 to close within 2.3 points of Mortefon, but didn't get a chance for a final showdown. Like Mortefon, Benedetti didn't finish outside the top five once and can be proud of how he fought over the last five day and he still finishes the season as the vice-world champion.

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) bounced back brilliantly from a ninth place finish in Sylt to sign off the season with a podium. The Italian finished just 0.3 of a point behind Mortefon after recording two second places and two third places. Iachino just misses out on the overall podium to Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) with only 100 points separating the two heavyweights. Marotti completes the prestigious overall podium for the second time in his career after also achieving the feat in 2022.

The overall top 10 is completed by Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) - 5th - last year’s vice-world champion Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) - 6th - Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) - 7th - Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) - 8th - Alexis Mathis (Tabou / GA Sails) - 9th - and Michele Becker (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils) - 10th.

That concludes the 2024 PWA World Tour, so congratulations to all of the respective world champions from this year. We’d like to sign off this season by saying a massive thanks to the organisers and volunteers here in Japan - without whom this event wouldn’t be possible, and we hope to return in 2025.

Overall Ranking 2024 PWA World Tour - Women’s Foil Slalom

1st Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)
3rd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (NB | Starboard / NeilPryde)
5th Mae Davico (FRA | PATRIK / Loftsails)
Overall Ranking 2024 PWA World Tour - Men’s Foil Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
2nd Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
3rd Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
4th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
7th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
8th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Alexis Mathis (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
10th Michele Becker (GER | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)

Result 2024 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Foil Slalom

1st Marion Mortefon (FRA | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)
2nd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
3rd Lina Eržen (SLO | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Tamar Steinberg (ISR | Future Fly)
5th Sara Wennekes (NED | Future Fly / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Foil Slalom

1st Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7 / PATRIK Foils)
2nd Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
6th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
8th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
10th Michele Becker (GER | PATRIK / PATRIK Sails / PATRIK Foils)