“Yeah definitely I’m hungry to get the title this year so yeah last year was super close two times just missed out two times on the first place so that was a bit disappointing but this year I’m ready to get it I think I can do it definitely and yeah just gonna give it my all and let’s see what happens.”
Overview
The Defender GKA Kite World Cup Sylt 2026 took place from August 25 to 30, 2026, on the German island of Sylt as part of the 2026 GKA Kite World Tour. Held at the North Sea’s iconic venue, the event hosted both the season-ending Kite-Surf showdown and a one-off Hydrofoil Big Air World Championship, creating a high-stakes and dramatic narrative across both disciplines.
Location and Conditions
As the largest market for kite sports, Germany’s Westerland beach on Sylt boasts over 40 years of watersports heritage and an iconic stage where roughly 50,000 spectators packed the beach and promenade across the week, with live commentary led by Tom Court, Lewis Crathern, and 12-year pro rider Willow-River Tonkin alongside local German announcer Ingo. The unpredictable North Sea conditions tested the riders’ adaptability, shifting from 15–18 knot lighter winds ideal for hydrofoils early in the week to 20–30+ knot winds and heavy shorebreak waves over the weekend.
Format and Competitors
The 2026 Kite-Surf discipline was condensed into a hyper-short season of just two stops (Cape Verde and Sylt). In the men’s division—following the shared victory between James Carew and Sebastian Ribeiro in Cape Verde—a staggering 50% of the annual ranking points were decided in this single Sylt event.
In the women’s Kite-Surf division, because the Cape Verde opener had been cancelled due to insufficient wind, the entire 2026 World Title rested on this single stop in Germany. Four-time consecutive Sylt winner Capucine Delannoy (France), Swiss Red Bull rider Camille Losserand, local German talent Kaya Lehmann, and France’s Charlotte Carpentier headlined the seven-woman draw, with Delannoy noting before the event:
“Playing the world title here on Sylt, it’s going to be only one stop so of course it puts more pressure on Sylt, but I’ve been preparing well. I was in Brazil for the past two months and in Morocco before doing a lot of freestyle and some wave as well, so I feel ready… I think there could be no better place to play a world title.”
— Capucine Delannoy
Simultaneously, the Hydrofoil Big Air division (16 men and 8 women) was held as a “One-stop World Championship.” All riders started from zero points (counting their top 4 tricks from different families out of 7 attempts), turning the event into a winner-takes-all tournament where the victor in Sylt would instantly be crowned the 2026 World Champion. The men’s draw featured defending champion Hugo Wigglesworth (New Zealand), German prodigies Finn Flügel and Marten Koblischke, and Italian brothers Lorenzo and Leonardo Casati (who competed in both Kite-Surf and Hydrofoil Big Air), while the women’s fleet was led by defending champion Andrea Zust (Switzerland), Kailani Friedrich (Austria), 15-year-old Aya Kasabova (Bulgaria), and Ola Markowska (Poland).
Highlights and Early-Round Drama
Hydrofoil Big Air: The Vaseline Line Hack, “Double Osmosis” Progression, and ER Doctor Andrea Zust
During the opening days of Hydrofoil Big Air action, a nerdy equipment hack behind defending champion Hugo Wigglesworth’s ultra-fast multi-spin rotations was exposed by commentators Tom Court and Lewis Crathern: Hugo had coated his kite lines with Vaseline to reduce friction between crossed lines when throwing six or more rotations in a single jump.
“One of the most interesting things I heard… from Hugo Wigglesworth. On day 1… was that he uses Vaseline to lubricate his lines so he can spin so much… You heard it here first, folks. Hugo Wigglesworth lubricates his lines.”
— Tom Court & Lewis Crathern
Meanwhile, 17-year-old German favorite Finn Flügel was the only rider in the early rounds to land every single trick attempt without a crash, electrifying the home crowd with mid-air foot switches and a historic “Double Osmosis” (releasing and re-catching the board behind his back twice in two consecutive front roll rotations before putting his feet back in the straps) for 8.73 points. On the women’s side, defending champion Andrea Zust revealed she had spent the previous few months working demanding shifts as an emergency department doctor—leaving her with far less water time—yet still set the pace with composed Rodeo and Kiteloop landings.
Kite-Surf Quarterfinals: Airton Cozzolino’s Indomitable Buzzer-Beater
When strong southwesterly winds arrived on Day 4, Kite-Surf action launched at 6:30 AM at sunrise. While the women’s draw and men’s early rounds ran under a 100% strapless freestyle format (8-minute heats, best 4 of 12 attempts), building afternoon swells prompted a switch to a mixed format from Men’s Round 3 onward (10-minute heats, counting two strapless freestyle tricks plus one wave ride).
The Men’s Kite-Surf title race evolved into a three-way battle between James Carew, Gabriel Benetton, and Matchu Lopes. After France’s Charly Martin upset 2025 Sylt winner Théo Demanez in Round 3, the quarterfinals saw Matchu Lopes defeat Javier Lopez Martin, Gabriel Benetton edge Leonardo Casati, and James Carew eliminate Big Air star Lorenzo Casati.
The most dramatic moment of the quarterfinals came from the indomitable spirit of Airton Cozzolino against Germany’s Keanu Merten. In a neck-and-neck heat, Airton suffered a massive wipeout, losing his kite and injuring his ribs. Despite agonizing pain, he rushed back into the water on a backup board and kite with just 20 seconds left and caught one final wave on the buzzer to secure a miraculous comeback victory.
Show Detailed Competition Results & Rankings (Spoilers)
Women’s Kite-Surf Final: Capucine Delannoy Claims Her 5th Consecutive Sylt Crown and 5th World Title
In the Women’s Kite-Surf Semi-Finals, Camille Losserand defeated local German talent Kaya Lehmann on experience, while Capucine Delannoy posted a massive 30.80-point heat total (highlighted by a 7.97 front roll shovit) to eliminate fellow French rider Charlotte Carpentier (with Lehmann defeating Carpentier in the mini-final to claim 3rd place on home water).
The Women’s Final became a showdown between four-time Sylt champion Capucine Delannoy and Swiss charger Camille Losserand. Losserand seized the lead midway through the 8-minute heat with a Double Backroll Board-off and a Front Roll Rodeo, but Delannoy struck back with a 7.50 Double Front Roll and a late 7.00 front roll shovit to reclaim the top spot, securing her fifth consecutive Sylt victory and her fifth career GKA Kite-Surf World Title.
Men’s Kite-Surf Semi-Finals and Final: James Carew’s Last-Minute “Frontside 313” Miracle
In Men’s Semi-Final 1, Gabriel Benetton stomped a Triple Frontroll and a Double Shuvit right out of the gate before swapping to a 10m kite for the waves to hold off Matchu Lopes and reach the final. In Semi-Final 2, however, the severe rib injury Airton Cozzolino had sustained in his quarterfinal crash forced him to go to the hospital and withdraw against James Carew.
While Airton’s withdrawal automatically placed James Carew into the final and mathematically guaranteed him the 2026 World Title before the final even began, the ensuing final heat against Gabriel Benetton turned into a legendary comeback.
Midway through the final, after starting on the wrong kite size and returning to the beach (where girlfriend Bruna Kajiya was caddying) to switch from a freestyle to a wave setup, James suffered a severe line tangle. Exploiting this time loss, Gabriel caught a wave out back to score a 6.50 and seize the lead.
With Gabriel holding victory in his grasp and only 30–45 seconds remaining, a desperate James exchanged a look with Bruna on the beach and staked everything on the highest-difficulty maneuver in strapless kitesurfing: an unhooked Frontside 3-1-3. Executing a mid-air handle pass behind his back on a strapless surfboard, James landed the acrobatic trick cleanly on his first try. The judges rewarded this pinnacle of technical skill with a massive 8.67 points. Edging out Gabriel by a margin of just 0.2 points, James claimed the Sylt event victory and his fifth career World Title.
“Before the final, unfortunately I went in the water to have a heat with Airton and he wasn’t coming in the water… I think he hurt his rib or went to the hospital, so it kind of got me out of the zone and then they told me I won a world title, and I had to go in the final so I was a bit shook up and I took the wrong kite in the final… and then the last two minutes I knew I needed something big and to be honest I haven’t done a handle pass in a while, so I looked at my girl [Bruna Kajiya] and we both just knew it was time for the pass so I had to do it and get something big and that was it.”
— James Carew
Hydrofoil Big Air Finals: Hugo Wigglesworth and Andrea Zust Defend Their World Titles
In the women’s one-off Hydrofoil Big Air World Championship final, Switzerland’s Andrea Zust displayed remarkable composure and stability to hold off Austria’s Kailani Friedrich (2nd), 15-year-old Aya Kasabova (3rd), and Poland’s Ola Markowska (4th), defending her 2025 crown to become a two-time World Champion on the exact beach where she had made her debut competing against the men three years earlier.
In the men’s one-off World Championship final on Day 5, 17-year-old German prodigy Finn Flügel—buoyed by roaring home support—opened with an 8.93-point Double Osmosis (two consecutive behind-the-back board passes in mid-air) and stacked 31.80 points to push defending champion Hugo Wigglesworth to the brink. However, 19-year-old New Zealander Hugo Wigglesworth answered his opening 8.87 and 9.03 with a massive Inverted Boogie Loop Board-off for 9.07 points, before switching from a 7m to a 12m foil kite as the breeze softened to seal back-to-back Hydrofoil Big Air World Titles ahead of Finn Flügel (2nd), Lorenzo Casati (3rd), and Marten Koblischke (4th).
Final Results & Rankings
[Men’s Kitesurf: 2026 Overall Ranking Top 4]
1st: James Carew (1935 pts) *2026 World Champion
2nd: Gabriel Benetton (1605 pts)
3rd: Matchu Lopes (1505 pts)
4th: Airton Cozzolino (1280 pts)
[Women’s Kitesurf: 2026 Overall Ranking Top 4]
1st: Capucine Delannoy (1030 pts) *2026 World Champion
2nd: Camille Losserand (900 pts)
3rd: Kaya Lehmann (770 pts)
4th: Charlotte Carpentier (730 pts)
[Men’s Hydrofoil Big Air: Sylt Event Results Top 4]
*One-stop World Championship
1st: Hugo Wigglesworth (1000 pts) *2026 World Champion
2nd: Finn Flügel (870 pts)
3rd: Lorenzo Casati (770 pts)
4th: Marten Koblischke (700 pts)
[Women’s Hydrofoil Big Air: Sylt Event Results Top 4]
*One-stop World Championship
1st: Andrea Zust (1000 pts) *2026 World Champion
2nd: Kailani Friedrich (870 pts)
3rd: Aya Kasabova (770 pts)
4th: Ola Markowska (700 pts)
Search Aliases: 2026 Sylt, 2026Sylt, Germany: GKA Kite World Tour, Germany:GKAKiteWorldTour