On Wednesday the athletes could compete in 20+kts as Lake Balaton showed a slightly different face on the third day of the Suzuki Techno293 World Championships. The wind and the waves picked up spectacularly, so by the end of the day the front runners in each category were starting to emerge.
In Techno Plus Men the Greek windsurfers have taken the lead from the Japanese rivals with Minas Koutelas and Aris Panagopoulos only four points apart after nine races, the best Hungarian is still Kristóf Gerlits, who is in eighth place.
“On Wednesday the wind was strong, which changed to a little bit safer over time, as it was on the previous days. I enjoyed it a lot, but without question the third day was the hardest,” said Aris Panagopoulos, whom category did not race in the afternoon. We have good opponents, we fought for the first place with my compatriot Minas Koutelas, who is my good friend, but we don’t surf in the same club. It’s one of the best organised contests I can remember, we don’t spend so many hours on the water, so we don’t get so tired and we have enough energy for the next day. The wind is very safe here compared to the sea, the water makes the board faster, but it’s not different, it’s a really good competition.”
Italy’s Guillermo Duranti and Kristian Porcu are competing in the U17 boys and they felt that Wednesday’s race was not really good for them, the course seemed a bit long in such strong winds, which made their job a lot harder, especially at the buoys, because they had to sail much faster than before. There were also some minor communication problems between the categories due to the increase in speed, making this a more difficult day to complete.
One of the most balanced Hungarian competitors in the first 3 days was Dalma Gádorfalvi in the U15 girls’ competition, who is the daughter of the Hungarian surfing legend, European Champion, World Championship bronze medallist and six-time Olympian Áron Gádorfalvi, who is here of course with her as her coach in Balatonföldvár.
“I am very happy that such a big competition is being held in Hungary, which is special because we have been going abroad for similar competitions so far. Wednesday was a bit harder for me because of the high winds, I sail better in light winds because I am lighter weight. This is my second big race after the European Championships where I didn’t do so well, so I’m very happy to be in the front of the field now,” said Dalma Gádorfalvi. “My goal is to be a member of the Hungarian A-squad and finish in the front, so it looks like there is a chance to manage both. At the end of the third day I’m in fifth place, but my goal hasn’t changed, my dad and I have agreed to be in the top ten is a realistic goal. Anyway, we talk a lot, he always tells me what I need to change, what I can improve on, if I’m second in a race, I can learn from that and if I do badly, I can learn from that too.”
DAY 3, RESULTS:
TECHNO PLUS MEN:
- Minas Koutelas (Greece) 30
- Aris Panagopoulos (Greece) 34
- Yugo Saito (Japan) 39
TECHNO PLUS WOMEN:
- Teres Medde (Italy) 20
- Nefeli Anagnostou (Greece) 25
- Kristyna Chalupniokva (Czech Republik) 39
U17, BOYS:
- Panagiotis Ioannou (Greece) 13
- Agapitos Michalis Stamatoulakis (Greece) 19
- Pavlos Kallitsis Alagkiozian (Greece) 21
U17, GIRLS:
- Danai Anagnostou (Greece) 10
- Martina Bárbara Tor (Spain) 31
- Defne Egrilmez (Turkey) 32
U15, BOYS:
- Evangelos Kyriazakos (Greece) 25
- Georgios Kanellopoulos (Greece) 42
- Spiros Monastiriotis (Greece) 50
U15, GIRLS:
- Olivia Sánchez Moral (Spain) 13
- Lindia Miel Pousa Dios (Spain) 18
- Mia Berazategui (Spain) 33
U13:
- Joshua Castro Jurek (Spain) 24
- Joan Servera (Spain) 36
3rd Biel Martorell Blasco (Spain) 43
