Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour
Visit Qatar GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup Final Qatar 2024
10 – 14 December, 2024
Spot: Fuwairit Kite Beach (CET +2)
Discipline: Freestyle
Judging Criteria: Seven attempts with four best scores to count. 50 seconds per jump.
Day One: 10 December, 2024
15.00 That’s a wrap from Qatar. The fastest GKA event in history.
14.20 M Final. Arthur Guillebert v Karim Mahmoud v Finn Flügel v Maxime Chabloz. Flugel gets his first world cup win. Chabloz takes the title with his second place.
13.47 M S-F2 Matteo Dorotini v Eliott Panet v Karim Mahmoud v Maxime Chabloz. Chabloz pulls it out of the bag with the highest trick score of the comp, 9.33 for a Backmobe 7. The Swiss athlete was under pressure after a couple crashes, but he advances to the final, with Mahmoud in second.
13.20 M S-F1 Val Garat v Leo Verrecchia v Finn Flügel v Arthur Guillebert. Flugel gets the heat win and advances to the final in first place. Title contender Guillebert goes with him to the final, less than a point adrift on the scoreboard.
12.55 M R1 H4 Linus Erdmann v Leo Verrecchia v Maxime Chabloz. Chabloz wins the heat with the biggest heats score of the day so far, 28.37. He closed it out with 8.33 for a massive Combo. Tour leader Chabloz is the man with his eyes on the prize of a first world title. Hold on to your (sun) hats! Verrecchia squeezes into second place and also goes the semis, which are up next. We’ve still got enough water in the lagoon.
12.40 M R1 H3 Karim Mahmoud v Valentin Garat. Mahmoud goes through in first place, with Garat just behind in second to also go to the semi-final.
12.20 M R1 H2 Eliott Panet v Hironobu Nakano v Arthur Guillebert. Gillebert wins the heat and advances to the semi. Guillebert finding the power and speed even in the lighter conditions for some bigger moves, including a 7.27 for Backside 317. Panet moves up in second place, landing all his seven trick attempts.
11.55 W Final Claudia León Kaya Lehmann v Rita Arnaus v Bruna Kajiya. Kajiya gets a convincing win and makes it three from three for the season. That gives her the 2024 world title, her fifth Freestyle crown. Rita Arnaus takes second place and earns the second podium step for the season. León, returning from injury, takes the third podium step, while Lehmann is fourth in her third successive final.
11.40 M R1 H1 Matteo Dorotini v Finn Flügel. Flugel goes through to the semi-finals in first place, while Dorotini goes through in second place.
11.20 W S-F2 Kaya Lehmann v Naïs Balbinot v Bruna Kajiya. Tour leader Kajiya books her place in the final, a big 6.83 for a Backmobe helping her forward. Lehmann joins her in the final.
10.50 W S-F1 Nina Font v Claudia León v Rita Arnaus v Francesca Bagnoli. Arnaus wins the heat with a 19.54 total and goes to the final. León, returning from injury, puts together a strong heat. She got 6.17 for a Heart Attack and also advances. For Francesca Bagnoli her third place is a big blow to her Freestyle discipline podium ambitions.
10.25 Red flag up at 10.45. The wind is picking up.
10.15 Next FPS 10.45.
10.00 Next FPS 10.30.
09.47 Next FPS 10.15.
09.38 Next FPS 10.00.
08.00 Good morning. Welcome to the Freestyle season finale. The riders’ briefing set for 09.00, with a First Possible Start at 09.30. The plan is to start with the women’s semi-finals. Stay tuned.