Bernd Roediger Grabs World #1 Spot at Buzzer at Japan World Cup: IWT/PWA Windsurfing Wave Tour

In the first 5-star event of the 2024 IWT/PWA Unified World Windsurfing Wave Tour, winners from Spain, Japan and Hawaii edged out the field with buzzer beater moments at the Spicare Omaezaki Japan World Cup. These wave riders will now start the season with the coveted, world number one position on the Tour.

Learn more about the collaboration of these two professional windsurfing world tours HERE.

PRO JUNIOR BOYS: DUNKERBECK HOLDS THE LINE

In the Pro Junior Boys, 2023 World Junior Champion, Liam Dunkerbeck (Spain) snatched the win in an intense final, where the last three waves ridden within the final 30 seconds counted for each of the podium finishers. In cross-offshore conditions with head high waves, Dunkerbeck found a set in the final that offered multiple critical lip hits.

Scoring a 7.67, he looked like he’d take the win mid-way through the heat if he could provide a solid back-up score. In this nail-biter final, the last 30 seconds of the heat proved critical as Ryu Nogochi (Japan) made a late charge by nailing an important lip hit on a good-sized set to take the lead. Young Dunkerbeck charged on a smaller wave behind him performing two lips hits that managed to give him just enough of a back-up score to snatch back the lead.

Then, right on the buzzer, Hayata Ishii (Japan), who was sitting in fourth place, found one of the biggest waves of the heat behind Dunkerbeck. Hayata launched his attack with a great aerial, but the wave didn’t offer much for his second move and he scored a 6.27 to finish as runner up, just 0.2 points ahead of Nogochi. Ryoma Sugi (Japan) sat in second all the way up to the last minute, but caught a smaller wave in front of the sets and had to watch as the others all slashed their way to move ahead of him.

Dunkerbeck said, “It was probably one of the most difficult heats of my life! It was freezing cold, glassy on the inside and really windy on the outside. I was lucky I got that big one in the middle of the heat.”

PRO JUNIOR GIRLS: Maria Morales Navarro Claims the Lead

Maria Morales Navarro (Spain) continued the Spanish conquest in the Junior Girls by knocking out upcoming Japanese talent, Nozomi Sakai and Mii Yamada. Sakai did well to start the heat with two quick scores, but in very light winds, fell off the back of a good wave on her second turn. This still gave her the lead, which she held all the way up until the last minute, when Navarro found a long walled set wave and slashed her way through multiple turns on clean walls to steal the win from Sakai.

“I’m super happy to win here at Omaezaki. The conditions were really good, but it was not that easy,” said Navarro joyfully.

PRO MEN: Roediger Leans into Final Moment for Win

The Pro Men and Pro Women were run in mast high waves over an exhausting, but exhilarating ten hour day. 2023 World Champion, Marcilio Browne (Brazil), aed the Men’s final for most of the way and looked unstoppable with rapid fire frontside to backside moves in the critical sections.

However, in the last few seconds of the final, Bernd Roediger (Hawaii), managed to snare a solid wave that offered excellent sections for showcasing his already impressive progressive performance. Roediger landed an aerial and, in a ‘will he or won’t he?’ moment, pulled a dramatic goiter out of the white water to claim the win after the buzzer.

Bernd responded to the upset by saying, “I’m notorious for giving people scares like that. It definitely has to do with a feeling you get. You feel the wave is out there, and you just have to wait for it to come. I felt like something good was going to happen to me today”.

Read Roediger's narrative on the recap of the Cloudbreak Fiji World Tour event HERE.

Victor Fernandez (Spain) had been another stand out, riding waves with speed, aggression and a snappy, off the lip style. But he couldn’t quite maintain the same flow and power he had found earlier in the day and finished in third. Morgan Noireaux (France) had looked to be gaining momentum right up to the semi-finals, with an attacking down-the-line approach. He smacked a few good sections in the final, but just didn’t quite get the same wave quality as he had in previous heats.

WOMEN'S PRO: Motoko Sato Reclaims # 1 Position

2023 winner and local favorite Motoko Sato (Japan) proved strong in the Pro Women’s division and again, grabbed the win out in front of world number two, Sarah Hauser (New Caledonia). Sato combined a succession of frontside hits with backside snaps to score the highest wave of the heat.

A relieved Sato exclaimed, “Being a local here, people think I’m used to these conditions. But, I’m not really used to these onshore conditions at all. I’m so glad to win.”

Hauser powered through bottom turns and hit lips with aggression to challenge Sato and claim the runner up position. World Ranked #4, Maria Andres (Spain), performed well and consistently, offering strong frontside turns throughout the event to remain a serious threat and finished in third place.

Results & 2024 World Rankings

Pro Junior Boys

1. Liam Dunkerbeck

2. Hayata Ishii

3. Ryu Noguchi

4. Ryoma Sugi

Pro Junior Girls / Junior Girls

1. Maria Morales Navarro

2. Nozomi Sakai

3. Mii Yamada

4. Natsuki Wawkasa

Pro Women