2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship: Results and Recap of the Event

It’s a wrap! 161 athletes from 27 countries  took part in the 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship at El Sunzal. Taking SUP Surfing Gold Medals on the final day of the competition, Justine Dupont and Benoit Carpentier  led team France to their first-ever Team Gold Medal in the event and the eighth annual edition of the Championship.

Team France with the first Gold Medal for their nation in the event’s eight-year history. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed

Gold for France at the 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship

The Gold for France is the team’s first in the eight-year history of the event, after coming up short with the Silver Medal on two occasions (2016 and 2017). Through the week of SUP Racing, SUP Surfing, and Paddeboard Racing, Team France placed an athlete on all but one podium, amassing 15 medals, including four Golds.

Justine Dupont shows she can do it all from big wave surfing, shortboard, longboard, and SUP Surfing, earning the Women’s SUP Surfing Gold. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed

“It feels unreal,” said Justine Dupont. “I have such a great team behind me. I’ve finished runner up five times across my different surfing disciplines, so this is great to finally be crowned World Champion in SUP Surfing.” Benoit Carpentier followed: “I am over the moon right now. This is my first international win and doing it here with the whole French team is amazing.”

Here are the results and recap of SUP action at the 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship

DAY ONE: SUP Sprints

The 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship kicked off in dramatic fashion and awarded the first Gold Medals of the event in the SUP Sprints.

USA’s 17-year-old phenom Jade Howson took the Gold in the Women’s SUP Sprint, igniting an excellent start for Team USA and showcasing the promising future that awaits her in the sport of StandUp Paddle Racing.

“It feels so great,” said Howson. “Last year I won sprint Bronze and I just really wanted to improve this year. “I have the best teammates. We’ve all known each other for a really long time. It’s more of a family than it is a team.”

Jade Howson wins the first Gold Medal of the competition in the Women’s SUP Sprint. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed

Italy’s Claudio Nika put on a dominant performance in the Men’s division, finishing the 200 meter sprint in the fastest time of the day (59 seconds) to earn his first-ever ISA Gold Medal – also the first for an Italian.

“It feels like the greatest thing that I’ve done in my life!” said Nika. “I’ve been working hard for that and now I’ve reached my goal.”

Claudio Nika celebrates his first Gold Medal performance in the history of the event. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed

SUP Sprint Results:
Women:
Gold – Jade Howson (USA)
Silver – Jessika Matos de Souza (BRA)
Bronze – Caterina Stenta (ITA)
Copper – Amandine Chazot (FRA)

Men:
Gold – Claudio Nika (ITA)
Silver – Conner Baxter (USA)
Bronze – Titouan Puyo (FRA)
Copper – Itzel Delgado (PER)

DAY TWO: Marathon SUP and Paddleboard Races

The second day of action at the 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship crowned four more World Champions in a thrilling series of 18km SUP and Paddleboard Distance Races.

Spain’s Esperanza Barreras and Brazil’s Vinnicius Martins both earned their first-ever ISA Gold Medals in the Women’s and Men’s SUP Distance Races, respectively.

The Women’s SUP Race. Photo ISA / Ben Reed

SUP Distance Results:
Women:
Gold – Esperanza Barreras (ESP)
Silver – Amandine Chazot (FRA)
Bronze – Rika Okuaki (JPN)
Copper – Mariana Carrasco Zanini (MEX)

Men:
Gold – Vinnicius Martins (BRA)
Silver – Itzel Delgado (PER)
Bronze – Titouan Puyo (FRA)
Copper – Claudio Nika (ITA)

Paddleboard Distance Results:
Women:
Gold – Tyra Buncombe (RSA)
Silver – Camile Rosa Perotteau (FRA)
Bronze – Daniela Spais (ARG)

Only three medals awarded, rest of field disqualified or did not finish.

Men:
Gold – Hunter Pflueger (USA)
Silver – David Buil Sanz (ESP)
Bronze – Sam Norton (ENG)
Copper – Julen Marticorena (FRA)

DAY THREE: Team Relay Race

The Team Relay Race featured ten nations with a SUP and Paddleboard racer of each gender to comprise teams of four. Each athlete completed a lap of the course before tagging their next teammate into the race. The competing nations were Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Spain and USA.

Team Spain claimed their second Gold Medal of the 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in the Team Relay. With a time of 12 minutes and 31 seconds, Spain won the relay behind strong performances from Carlos Alonso Ruiz in Men’s Paddleboard, Susak Molinero in Women’s SUP, Itziar Abascal in Women’s Paddleboard, and Rafael Sirvent in Men’s SUP.

Team Spain takes the Gold Medal in the Team Relay. Photo ISA / Sean Evans

Team Relay Results:
Gold – Spain
Silver – France
Bronze – USA
Copper – Japan

DAY FOUR: Technical Races

The SUP Technical Racing marked the fourth day of competition at El Sunzal, El Salvador, a turning point in the team rankings with six Gold Medals awarded across SUP, SUP Junior, and Paddleboard. Titouan Puyo shined for Team France in the Men’s SUP Technical Race, dominating the field of world-class racers to take the Gold, his first in the event since 2014.

France’s Titouan Puyo celebrates his win. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed

The Women’s Final was a tight race from start to finish, as Spain’s Barreras and France’s Amandine Chazot went back and forth throughout. Barreras, who entered the event with low expectations as her debut participation, has dominated the field of elite talent and asserted herself as one of the premiere women paddlers in the sport. “My goal this year was simply to come to the World Championship,” said Barreras. “Winning two Golds is a dream come true. I am super happy, even more so for my team, who are all here on the beach cheering me on.”

Spain’s Esperanza Barreras is unstoppable in the Women’s Technical Race. Photo: ISA / Sean Evans

Junior Technical Races

USA’s Jade Howson successfully defended her Girl’s Junior World Title, but not without a tough race against Spain’s Duna Gordillo, who kept Howson’s pace until the final stretch of the race, finishing with Silver. “I am so excited to be here in El Salvador,” said Howson. “It’s super pretty and a great place for racing, so I am so happy to take another Gold here.”

Jade Howson successfully defended her Girl’s Junior World Title Photo: ISA

Christian Andersen, the Danish prodigy and long-time student of five-time ISA World Champion Casper Steinfath, stepped into the spotlight by earning his first World Title in the Boy’s Junior Technical Race. “It’s so unbelievable!” said Andersen. “At the end I got a little lead on [Rai Taguchi] and I was able to hold it all the way to the finish. I am really grateful to have Casper [Steinfath] here today. He’s been with me since day one. He pushed me into my first wave at nine years old. We warmed up together and he gave me some key tips out there for the race.”

Christian Andersen aka Polar Bear takes his first World Title in the Boy’s Junior Technical Race Photo: ISA

Men’s SUP Technical Race Results 
Gold – Titouan Puyo (FRA)
Silver – Conner Baxter (USA)
Bronze – Vinnicius Martins (BRA)
Copper – Martin Vitry (FRA)

Women’s SUP Technical Race
Gold – Esperanza Barreras (ESP)
Silver – Amandine Chazot (FRA)
Bronze – Rika Okuaki (JPN)
Copper – Caterina Stenta (ITA)

Boy’s Junior SUP Technical Race
Gold – Christian Andersen (DEN)
Silver – Rai Taguchi (JPN)
Bronze – Marius Auber (FRA)
Copper – Tyler Bashor (USA)

Girl’s Junior SUP Technical Race
Gold – Jade Howson (USA)
Silver – Duna Gordillo (ESP)
Bronze – Laura Dal Pont (ITA)
Copper – Anais Guyomarch (FRA)

Men’s Paddleboard Technical Race
Gold – Julen Marticorena (FRA)
Silver – Bart Schade (USA)
Bronze – Carlos Alonso Ruiz (ESP)
Copper – Andrew Byatt (ENG)

Women’s Paddeboard Technical Race
Gold – Itziar Abascal (ESP)
Silver – Yurika Mitsui (JPN)
Bronze – Cornelia Rigatti (ITA)
Copper – Tiana Pugliese (USA)

DAY FIVE: SUP Surfing

France’s Benoit Carpentier was the top performer of the day with the highest wave score (8) and heat total of 15.90.

The three-time defending Women’s SUP Surfing World Champion, Australia’s Shakira Westdorp, earned the highest women’s heat total (13.66) for the day.

DAY SIX: SUP Surfing (Continued)

A rise in swell at El Sunzal provided an excellent canvas for the world’s best SUP surfers to perform on the sixth day of competition at the 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship. Carpentier’s day 2 heat total of 16.73 and single wave score of 8.73 were not matched by any competitor in the event. Shakira Westdorp also repeated her top performance from day 1 of SUP Surfing with the high heat total on the second day (11.70).

DAY SEVEN: SUP Surfing (Continued)

The anticipated south swell arrived with fantastic conditions on the penultimate day of competition. Chest to head-high waves and morning offshore wind produced the highest heat scores of the event thus far. Italy’s Airton Cozzolino continued to impress in his ISA debut, earning the highest wave score of the event among all surfers with 9.33 in the Men’s Division. Cozzolino advanced to the Men’s Main Event Final.

Justine Dupont also shined with the event’s highest woman wave score, earning an excellent 8.5 points. “I am really proud of my teammates. I love this type of event with national pride and team camaraderie. I am happy to make it through to the final day to go for Gold,” said Dupont.

Taking advantage of the global attention that the World Championship has brought to El Salvador, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources held a turtle release at El Sunzal to bring awareness to wildlife conversation in El Salvador. Dozens of international athletes took part to witness the turtles begin their journeys into the ocean. “The environment and tourism are closely related,” said Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Fernando López. “We are working to protect and conserve our nature and wildlife. The most important thing to know is that the beauty you see here at El Sunzal is El Salvador, not the negative images that you see on the news.”

DAY EIGHT: SUP Surfing Finals

The eighth day of competition at El Sunzal featured the Men’s and Women’s SUP Surfing Finals. A strong south swell continued to grace the cobblestone point with quality waves blown by an offshore wind in the morning that turned onshore later in the day. After a morning of Main Event and Repechage Rounds, the Women’s Grand Final took to the water first. Westdorp looked primed to earn her fourth Gold Medal in a row, earning a strong 8.5 single wave score. However, Westdorp was not able to find an equally strong back-up score, and Dupont surged ahead at the end of the heat to surpass Westdorp’s total by just three-tenths of a point. Dupont, who is the Chair of the ISA Athletes’ Commission and recently rode what is speculated to be the biggest wave for a woman ever at Nazare, Portugal, showed her prowess in all disciplines of surfing and earned her first SUP Surfing Gold.

Justine Dupont on her way to the top of Women’s SUP Surfing. Photo ISA / Sean Evans

The Men’s Grand Final followed with Benoit Carpentier intent on earning a second Gold on the day for Team France. Carpentier was surpassed by Italy’s Cozzolino, however he bounced back in the final 90 seconds of the heat with the Final’s highest wave score yet with 8.9 points.

The last minute wave of Carpentier completed the perfect ending for Team France and cemented their position atop the team podium.

France’s Benoit Carpentier with his first international event win, coming in the SUP Surfing’s World Championship. Photo: ISA / Ben Reed

Final results

Men’s SUP Surfing
Gold – Benoit Carpentier (FRA)
Silver – Airton Cozzolino (ITA)
Bronze – Alex Salazar (BRA)
Copper – Riki Horikoshi (JPN)

Women’s SUP Surfing
Gold – Justine Dupont (FRA)
Silver – Shakira Westdorp (AUS)
Bronze – Iballa Ruano Moreno (ESP)
Copper – Vania Torres (PER)

Team Ranking
Gold – France
Silver – Spain
Bronze – USA
Copper – Italy
5 – Brazil
6 – Japan
7 – Argentina
8 – South Africa
9 – Guatemala
10 – Peru

For the full recap of the 2019 Surf City El Salvador ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship, visit www.isasurf.org