Kapono Fukuda wins the junior men's final of the Gran Canaria Pro-Am

On the beach of Las Canteras, another exciting day of an international competition that reaches more intense levels took place. The most experienced surfers entered the water, culminating in the crowning of the new world champion in the PRO Junior 18 male category.

The Japanese Kapono Fukuda, revalidated the title he won in 2022, giving the fourth title of this nautical event to Japan. The other great protagonist of this final, the Cadiz Enrique Perez, started his performance strongly, but his opponent had a fast pace keeping his score high, while Perez lacked time to complete a maneuver that would allow him to scratch the 3.34 points with which Fukuda overtook him.

In this long-awaited final, in which skill must be exhibited before a jury that evaluates every detail, the men's and women's categories of SUP Surfing were presented for the first time.

On this stage, 11 women from 6 countries (Japan, Argentina, Spain, France, Brazil and Germany) made their debut. Among the standouts, Luchy Cosoletto from Argentina and the local Iballa Moreno from Gran Canaria, Spain, showed a remarkable superiority over the others, obtaining the highest scores in the different rounds and advancing to the quarterfinals.

In this stage, they will be joined by Japan's Kaede and Sakura Inoue, France's Camille Dubrana and Marine Kerdreux, and Alba Alonso Frey, another Spanish surfer who stood out in the second round, securing her place among the best.

In this same men's category, the 16 representatives from France, Brazil, Japan, Peru, Denmark and Spain completed two rounds, where the Brazilian riders got the highest scores, above thirteen points. Two Spaniards managed to enter the phase that will decide the qualifiers for the quarterfinals, which if the weather forecasts are met, the organization expects to be held this coming Sunday.

The final moments of this world championship will take place in the area of Lloret, on the beach of Las Canteras. It is anticipated that the sea conditions will be more favorable next Sunday, which is why the APP, the international organizing entity, has decided to establish two days of waiting.

This measure seeks to take advantage of the increased strength of the waves, providing a more impressive spectacle in this event that every day attracts a wider audience. The public has the opportunity to comfortably follow from the front row the performances of the world's best athletes in the paddle surfing discipline.