The second stop of the Virgin Kitesurf World Championships (VKWC) saw a thrilling day in Isla de Coche, Venezuela, with the freestyle men’s and women’s finals on Friday, June 12, 2015. Under a blazing sun and with consistent 18 knot winds, reigning world champion Karolina Winkowska and current leader Liam Whaley claimed their respective second victories in a row.
1. Liam Whaley 2. Youri Zoon 3. Aaron Hadlow
In the men’s final, Liam Whaley opposed Youri Zoon in a healthy competition. A clash of the titans, both current frontrunners pushed the boundaries and delivered a host of amazing double handle passes. Liam came out strong with a “go-for-broke” approach, pulling off a massive Front Blind Mobe as soon as the buzzer sounded, followed by his signature grabbed Back Mobe 5. The pressure was on as Youri suffered several crashes before he began landing his first moves. He soon narrowed the gap between the two by performing a seldom seen 319, with a high score of 9.45 out of 10. At the end of the extremely close heat with the scores of 40.23 vs. 40.08, Whaley finally managed to snatch the win over Zoon and win his second victory of the season.
1. Karolina Winkowska 2. Bruna Kajiya 3. Gisela Pulido
On the women’s side, 2009 world champion Bruna Kajiya was on point during this second leg of VKWC and mastered most of her heats until the final against Karolina Winkowska. Winkowska said, “Bruna is one of my biggest opponents so I knew I had to go big and try really hard tricks because she’s a really tough competitor.” Both riders kicked off the heat pretty well, but soon Karolina set the tone by delivering several strong moves, showcasing her strength and commitment. Bruna fought hard performing powerful manoeuvres but lacked consistency and could not match Karolina’s well-constructed heat. Winkowska dominated the competition and is clearly on the hunt for the world title.