Returning Champions Flourish on Day 2 of the 2024 ISA World Para Surfing Championship

Solid start for Sarah Bettencourt (USA), Marta Paço (POR) and Alana Nichols (USA) in their campaigns for fourth gold medals

Refined Kneel / Upright classification sets up strong competition between previous champions and new challengers

Huntington Beach, California – November 5, 2024

The second day of the 2024 ISA World Para Surfing Championship (WPSC) was greeted with stunning conditions yet again. Offshore ‘Santa Ana’ winds groomed the faces of the two-to-three foot swell, setting up for a day of classic Huntington Beach competition for the world’s best para surfers.

Multiple returning World Champions found great form in their debuts today as four women’s classifications saw their Round 1 completed, along with three men’s. Round 2 of men’s Prone 2 was also held in full.

Marta Paço (POR) drove across the open face of a solid set wave to kick off her campaign with a 7.00. The 19-year-old three-time World Champion remains undefeated since winning her first Visual Impairment 1 World Title in 2021. Fellow three-time World Champion Alana Nichols (USA) had a tough start to her heat in women’s Sit, but the Paralympic Medalist found the wave she’d been looking for within the final two minutes to post the highest single wave score of the day for the women, a 7.83.

Three of the four medalists from the 2023 women’s Kneel classification, Vera Quaresma (BRA), Audrey Pascual (ESP) and Emmanuelle Blanchet (FRA) were challenged by newcomer Erin Koffel (USA) and two-time World Champion Emma Dieters (AUS), who was recently reclassified. Quaresma, the defending Silver Medalist, set herself atop the leaderboard in her campaign for a first Gold Medal.

2018 World Champion Freddy Marimon (COL) found the best of men’s Prone 2, Round 2, adding a second 8.67 to his overall score, to enter the next round in second place on the leaderboard. Marimon ripped through a long left, highlighting it with a reverse 360 and massive claim as he finished in the sand.

With their dynamic surfing, Australia’s Joel Taylor (AUS) and Kai Colless (AUS) immediately set themselves atop the men’s Prone 1 leaderboard. The teammates repeated their debut performances from 2023, which saw both surfers claim medals, Taylor the gold and Colless the copper. Narrowly behind them sits another 2023 medalist, Casey Proud (HAW).

Three-time World Champion Sarah Bettencourt (USA) takes the lead in strong return to competition

Three-time World Champion Sarah Bettencourt (USA) took a strong lead in women’s Prone 1 in her return to competition. Undefeated since 2018, when she won the Silver Medal, Bettencourt was unable to compete in 2023, but today showed that she remains the woman to beat in the classification. The retired US Marine Corp Captain posted a 13.17 heat total to set herself atop the leaderboard in the division.

“I’m feeling so stoked,” Bettencourt said. “The conditions here are absolutely amazing, the water is beautiful and clean, the wind is staying down and I love my competitors out there. We are cheering each other on, we’re super supportive, the vibe here on the beach from all the nations is just epic. I wanted to start with this one, get some solid scores just going into the next round robin so I know that all I have to do is up those scores going in. I don’t underestimate my competitors. They are amazing surfers. They’re gunning for me, and I know it. So I’m just focusing on what’s right in front of me and I’ll deal with the conditions that I have, the situations that I have, and go from there.”

England’s Laurie Foti (ENG) and Suzanne Edwards (ENG) battled it out for the following two places on the leaderboard, followed by Jonne Moleman (NED), and returning medalists Paloma Onate (ESP) and Tracy McKay (RSA).

Refined Kneel / Upright classification sets up strong competition between previous champions and new challengers

The classifications within the WPSC continue to be refined year-on-year to remain in line with the International Paralympic Committee. Athletes are also evaluated before each event to confirm they are in the correct classification. This year it was determined that the surfing style of a collection of athletes from Stand 3 were a more appropriate fit in Kneel. As such, the new Kneel / Upright classification was defined, creating a new level of competitiveness within an already hotly contested division.

Multi-time World Champions, Llywelyn ‘Sponge’ Williams (WAL) and Mark ‘Mono’ Stewart (AUS), now face challenges not just from previous contenders like Ibon Oregui (ESP) and Altair Olivares (CHI), but also from long-time Stand 3 frontrunners including Dariel Melendez (CRC) and Martín Martínez (MEX).

The Stand 3 Copper Medalist from 2021, Martínez topped the leaderboard after the first round of men’s Kneel / Upright, earning a 14.80 two-wave heat total that included the only excellent score of the classification. Martínez collected an 8.33 for a radical vertical re-entry in the critical section of one of the bigger waves of the day.

“I’m really enjoying good friends and good waves here in Huntington,” Martínez said. “The waves are closing out a bit but some of them hold open. In the morning the sunlight reflects on the waves, but I was just trying to make sure I hit the critical section.”

Sitting a little further down the leaderboard, Melendez had an outstanding moment of his own, posting a 6.50 right before the buzzer. The Costa Rican has made the Stand 3 Final every year he has entered the event. So far the Gold Medal has eluded the 24-year-old, but he is looking forward to the competitive opportunities his new classification provides.

“It’s going to be a tough contest because now I’m in the kneel division, which is one of the top divisions in the game,” Melendez said. “I’m really excited about it. This is going to be a lot of competition. This has me thinking of all those things that I have to improve, that I have to push. And yeah, I feel like this is better for the sport, we’re going to have more people and hopefully make it for the Paralympics.”

In between Martínez and Melendez on the leaderboard are Williams and Stewart, who have dominated the division for many years, setting up for a tight battle over the coming days.

The 2024 WPSC will continue tomorrow with men’s Stand 1 at 7:00am, PST, at Southside Huntington Beach Pier.