Taming the strong Levante winds of Tarifa, Christopher Macdonald added a new World title to his collection yesterday, becoming the 2023 Surf-Freestyle Wingfoil World Champion, after a dominant performance throughout this entire GWA Wingfoil World Cup competition.
The 17-year-old made a statement and clearly set the bar high right from the start. In his first heat, he scored a massive 39.20 out of a possible 40, which was ultimately the highest score of the entire event. He even received two 10s, including one for a huge Backflip to FS7 combo.
In the quarter and semi- finals, Chris once again showed why he has been leading the rankings, scoring a 32.03 and 35.86 to claim the top spots in each heat and secure his place in the final. Knowing he was comfortably in the lead, he didn’t rest and used the opportunity to keep pushing, attempting multiple times to become the first rider to land a double backflip.
In the very competitive final heat, the intensity heightened but Chris was once again undeniable, earning 36.57 and finishing nearly six points ahead of the second-place finisher. With such a performance, he grabbed his fourth win on the tour this season and secured his first World title in surf-freestyle in this category. Indeed, Chris is also already a two-time world champion in the U19 age group.
“I’m super stoked to win the championship this year,” he said. “After getting knocked off the podium last year, I trained super hard for this year. I worked on my 1080 every day in Hood River to have it on lock, which allowed me to start trying other innovation tricks. From tricky light wind conditions in Denmark to 50 knots nuclear at Pozo Izquierdo, it was an awesome year with a lot of different events.
Thanks F-ONE and MANERA for your trust and support, I couldn’t have done it without you. Big thanks to my parents for supporting me all year long on the beach and taking care of me, and all of my friends back in Hood River for the amazing support. Excited for 2024, let’s do this!”
Huge congratulations to Chris for this title, and for continuing the push the sport of wing foiling every day!
Overall, our Next Generation team killed it in Tarifa, with Luca Vuillermet and Noé Cuyala both making it to the semi-finals. In the end, Luca finished fifth and Noé seventh of the entire field here. We are super proud of their results and can’t wait to see what’s next for these young shredders!
