There was some uncertainty about the ocean conditions for the last day of the Visit Maldives Pro, the waves have shrunk a bit, so the event organizers decided to wrap the competition this Wednesday.
The conditions on the last two days were smaller than in previous days, but all the bodyboarders showed their versatility. The truth is you need to surf in all kinds of conditions if you want to be a part of the best in the world.
That said, Austria’s Alexandra Rinder had a strong performance in the first rounds, dominating her heats. 2019 and 2023 world champion Sari Ohhara (Japan) had an intense showdown, pushing the current IBC World Tour number one, Maíra Viana, from Brazil to second place in one of the early heats. Sari also pointed the best wave of the event – 10,00 points in the quarters.
A few words are needed on behalf of breakout star, junior Luana Dourado, 15 years old, event wild card from Portugal, who placed 5th in the comp, after beating several well known names in the sport such as Portugal’s Joana Schenker, Brazil’s Nicolle Calheiros, and Japan’s Yuka Nishimura.
Japan’s Namika Yamashita proved her high level again, advancing to the final and winning the event against Sari Ohhara (12,75 vs. 12,00 pts). Neymara Carvalho, from Brazil, and Teresa Miranda, from the Canary Islands and event winner in 2023, finished equal third.
In the Pro Junior division, Vicente Campos from Portugal, just 13 years old, started strong and put on a great show on the first days of the competition. In the quarters, the young Portuguese finished tied with the number 2 in the ranking, Mikelle Arriagada, but was the Chilean rider who advanced to the semifinals thanks to having the best wave of the heat. Vicente Campos wraps up his participation in 5th place. Really impressive performance and result.
Also in the Men’s Pro Junior, Reunion Island Milo Lautier beat Spain’s Jorge Hernández, the event wildcard, in a super close heat – note that Hernández was the 2023 Visit Maldives Pro Junior champ and the 2022 Pro Junior world champ.
In the final, Aussie Jai Taylor was superior with an 8-point-ride and a back up wave of 6 points (total 14,00 pts), leaving Mikelle Arriagada in second, with 8,95 total points and searching for 8,36 to advance to first. That was Jai’s first World Tour Victory, with the detail that this was also his first appearance on the tour. The kid deserves a round of applause, please.
On the Pro Men’s side, one of the early standout performers was Japan’s Hayato Enokiko, who won his heat and left Hawaiian Dave Hubbard in second. Maxime Castillo, from France, also did great by pointing the first highest single score of the contest – ARS followed by two super clean El Rollos that scored a 9,50 points in Round 4.
The current ranking leader, Armide Soliveres (Canary Islands), showed once again his incredible skill, breezing through the rounds until reaching the final at Varunulaa Raalhugandu. The last heat against Dave Hubbard, after overpassing PLC (France) and Gabriel Braga (Brazil) in the semis, respectively, was a very tight one.
Combined scores in the final were similar for each rider (13,75 vs. 13,50 pts), but the Spanish bodyboarder scored a wave of 8 points that made all the difference in the maths. Soliveres delivered two wins in a row (Itacoatiara and Maldives plus a second in Morocco) and keeps leading the men’s world tour ranking.
Click here for the updated IBC rankings in all divisions and be aware that the next event is the Sintra Pro Fest, in Portugal, between 3-8 September. See you all there!