Winners of Gran Canaria GKA – Big Air 2024: A Comprehensive Perspective

Qatar Airways GKA Big Air Kite World Championships

July 9–13, 2024 | Salinas de Tenefé

After two days of intense competition, the riders of the GKA Big Air Kite enjoyed the sun before the award ceremony on Saturday. Surrounded by the salt flats of Salinas de Tenefé, they joined Canarian environmentalists to learn about the region’s fragile ecosystems and clean the beaches they had shared over the past few days.

An incredible and authentic paella was served in the historic salt warehouse, and the champions finally took the podium during the award ceremony. The Qatar Airways GKA Big Air Kite World Championships showcased a new level of jumps and epic tricks that a new generation will carry into 2025.

Protection of Land and Sea

Over one hundred kilos of plastic bottles, wrappers, cans, and other waste, collected by the GKA riders and their friends, were weighed and stacked on the winners’ podium at the event site to draw attention to the ongoing challenge of managing our impact on the planet’s health.

Although it may seem like a dusty and barren area, Salinas de Tenefé is an environmentally sensitive zone with its essential native saltbushes that survive only on ocean moisture and keep the reddish-gray soil in place. This is where the land meets the sea, and a small effort here makes a significant difference to the health of the region’s ocean.

“These are important places for the athletes. They see the trash that comes from all over the planet,” said Octavio Alemán Arroyo of the Canary Foundation for Sustainable Development and Recycling, who gave a talk on the harmful effects of microplastics in the ocean and how to tackle the problem at its source through recycling efforts.

“We have to put some effort into the problem,” Alemán Arroyo said. “If we don’t, we’ll be surfing in garbage as the problem increases every day.” He added that educating all marine user groups, including fishing, tourism, and water sports, is part of his foundation’s mission to keep trash out of the ocean, where it is ingested by fish and eventually enters the human food chain.

A Relaxed Finale

A lively and united group of extreme kitesurfers, family, and friends gathered in the sunny afternoon patio to show their support for the winners. The week’s competition produced both the event winners and the overall Big Air Kite world champions of Qatar Airways GKA in the women’s and men’s categories. Zara Hoogenraad (NED) won in the women’s division, while Jeremy Burlando (ESP) won in the men’s division.

Although they were eliminated before the event finals, both Pippa van Iersel (NED) and Jamie Overbeek (NED) had enough points from their victories in the Big Air season to finish third and second in the world respectively.

With the race for the 2024 Big Air title settled, the riders will return to training in their different disciplines as they look to the future and aim for a new level of tricks and airtime in Big Air.

Results of the Gran Canaria Qatar Airways GKA Big Air Kite World Championships 2024

Women

1. Zara Hoogenraad (NED)
2. Francesca Maini (GBR)
3. Lana Herman (SLO)
4. Alice Ruggiu (ITA)

Men

1. Jeremy Burlando (ESP)
2. Lorenzo Casati (ESP)
3. Stino Mul (NED)
4. Leonardo Casati (ITA)

Overall Results of the Qatar Airways GKA Big Air Kite World Championships 2024

Men

1. Jeremy Burlando (ESP)
2. Jamie Overbeek (NED)
3. Lorenzo Casati (ESP)

Women

1. Zara Hoogenraad (NED)
2. Francesca Maini (GBR)
3. Pippa van Iersel (NED)

Palabras: GKA Media

images: Svetlana Romantsova

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