WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao windsurfer Luka Stomp finished in a shared 17th place at the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) Freestyle World Cup in Fuerteventura after advancing through one round of the double elimination before being eliminated in a closely contested heat.
Following the single elimination rounds, all competitors were given a second opportunity to improve their standings through the double elimination format, which allows surfers who have already lost to fight their way back toward the final.
Stomp began his comeback campaign with an impressive victory over Dutch windsurfer Maarten Molenaar. In the next round, he faced Britain's George Grisley. Despite a strong performance, the Curaçao athlete narrowly lost the heat, ending his tournament with a shared 17th-place finish.
The young windsurfer will have another opportunity to compete against the world's best later this year when the PWA World Cup heads to Sylt, Germany.
Stomp will once again compete in the freestyle discipline, where athletes perform as many high-level jumps, rotations and technical maneuvers as possible within a limited time. Judges score competitors based on the difficulty, execution and variety of their tricks to determine the winner.
The result marks another valuable experience for the Curaçao athlete as he continues to compete on the international windsurfing circuit against some of the sport's top freestyle riders.
Photo credit: PWA / John Carter