Colette Guadagnino beats them all

Sotavento, Fuerteventura, 27th - 31st, july 2001

Professional woman windsurfing has a new star – and perhaps a new world champion. 21 year old Colette Guadagnino from Venezuela just won the prestigeous freestyle Grand Prix in Sotavento, Fuerteventura. With a radical performance including a big variety of moves and radical stuff like one handed forward loops, her victory seems well deserved. Since Colette's first PWA-victory at the Lake Neusiedl Grand Prix in Austria last year, insiders already knew about her potential.

With 12 girls competing, already the first round showed the big progress the girls have again made since last year: Karin Jaggi won an epic battle against Iballa Ruano Moreno. The two showed that they are a match for the men by landing moves that only very few of the guys were capable of last year. Karin put together a more varied heat than Iballa showing that variation in a heat is the key to victory. Daida Ruano Moreno took third ahead of Toni Frey.

In the double elimination Karin Jaggi was the queen of the beach again with a resounding victory over Colette Guadagnino. Karin is pulling of the most technical tricks like Upwind 360´s, Vulcans, Push Tacks, Forwards and also a perfect Spock. Colette was very happy with her second place disposing of both of the Moreno twins on the road to the final, an unusual experience not having at least one of the twins in the final

In the second round the competitors were coping very well with the very gusty 25 knot cross offshore winds. It was obvious who was going to win from the very first round, as Colette Guadagnino was ripping. Colette was busting out massive one handed forwards and perfect sliding Volcans. Colette advanced through to the final to meet Daida Ruano Moreno who was also pulling out the big moves, on her route to the final also Daida landed a perfect Spock. Colette was set to take the victory however and sailed a more consistent heat than Daida to take the victory and the overall lead in the competition. Yesterdays winner Karin Jaggi could not maintain the form from the previous day and had to settle for a fourth place having been beaten by Iballa Ruano Moreno.

As on the last day of competition only the men had the chance to compete, Colette kept her first place with reigning freestyle champ Karin Jaggi in second place. It is still not sure, if there will be another freestyle event this year (Sylt?), but probably not. If so, Colette Guadagnino will be the well deserved new freestyle champion. Althought windsurfers are used to dominating personalities (Naish, Dunkerbeck), it might be good for the sport not to have Daida-and-Iballa-victorys all the time, as spectators pointed out.

Reigning PWA freestyle champ Josh Stone was not able to defend his title, as young gun Kauli Seadi from Brasil showed one of the best highwind freestyle performances ever. The 18 year old took the Fuerte-crown in one of his first PWA-events. If there will be no freestyle event in Sylt, Germany, nevertheless, "big guy" Antoine Albeau from France will be Josh's runner-up as freestyle champion this year.

RESULTS - Fuerteventura 1. Collette Guadagnino V-711 2. Karin Jaggi Z-14 3. Daida Moreno E-64 4. Iballa Moreno E-63 5. Uli Hoelzl AUT-123 5. Antonia Frey GR-1 7. Barbara Strasser G-1 7. Tanja Emig AUT-0 9. Cornelia van der Schilden H-95 9. Anne-Katrin Stevens G-200 9. Claudia Rankel AUT-33 9. Julia Deutsch AUT-541

RESULTS - Freestyle World Championship 1. Collette Guadagnino V-711 2. Iballa Moreno E-63 3. Karin Jaggi Z-14 3. Daida Moreno E-64 5. Antonia Frey GR-1 6. Uli Hoelzl AUT-123 7. Claudia Rankel AUT-33 8. Tanja Emig AUT-0 9. Barbara Strasser G-1 10. Anne-Katrin Stevens G-200 11. Julia Deutsch AUT-541 11. Cornelia van der Schilden H-95 13. Anne-Marie Reichmann H-98 14. Angela Huber-Gürtler, AUT-1

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 text: Andy Aichinger, PWA; photos: Christian Tillmanns 2001; © windgirls 2001