Spain's Marc Paré Rico Wins the Aloha Classic and Strengthens His Lead in the Fight for the Windsurfing World Title in Hawaii

HO’OKIPA, HI — November 2, 2026 — (NOTICIAS NEWSWIRE) — Spain’s Marc Paré Rico has taken another step toward defending his world title after winning the Aloha Classic in Hawaii, in a tight final against several former champions of the event.

In its 43rd edition, the Aloha Classic is the most prestigious event in wave windsurfing: the stage where the world’s best riders create, perfect and showcase the sport’s most spectacular maneuvers. Competitors use the waves as launch ramps to execute aerials and rotations, which are scored by a panel of judges, similar to surfing.

Paré Rico won his first world title in 2025. This season he has consolidated his lead thanks to extraordinary results in his home conditions in the Canary Islands. He now heads into the final event of the season in Chile (November 14–29) with a 6,410-point lead, where the 2026 world title will be decided.

Champions fall while Paré Rico stays calm

Paré Rico extended his lead by staying focused while two of the sport’s most decorated champions were eliminated. Germany’s Philip Köster, world No. 2 and five-time world wave champion, fell in the quarterfinals. His elimination came in imposing four-to-five-meter waves, in a four-man heat in which only the top two advanced.

Brazil’s Marcilio Browne, a four-time world wave champion and world No. 3, followed him out in the semifinals, eliminated in a heat won by Paré Rico.

For a rider who won his first world title just a year ago, beating opponents who have nine world titles between them was a real statement of intent.

In tricky, shifting conditions that surprised even some of Maui’s best local riders, Paré Rico was flawless in that semifinal. He made the most of every section of the wave, combining aerials, a full 360-degree turn on the wave face and a goiter, a backward rotation initiated from the top of the wave. He won the heat with a score of 13.82.

“At the start of this season I wasn’t sure I’d be able to put myself in a position to win another world title. It’s really exciting, but I try not to think about the title. All I want is to sail as well as I can and show what I’m capable of. Although my goal was to reach the Aloha Classic final.” – Marc Paré Rico

In the final, Paré Rico recovered from several early falls with a clean 360 on the wave and then brought the crowd to its feet with a perfectly executed air taka and a powerful hit against the lip. Those maneuvers put him ahead in the final minutes, a lead he held to win by just 0.05 points.

“I still can’t believe it. My goal all season was to reach the final here. I’ve always felt this is the event I find hardest. It’s incredible to have won.” – Marc Paré Rico

A new challenger from Maui

The main threat to Paré Rico’s title defense now comes from Bernd Roediger, who grew up on Maui and was competing in his home conditions.

Roediger, winner of the Maui Pro earlier this season, posted the best score of the semifinals (14.90) thanks to a series of aerials with modified rotations and powerful turns on the wave.

In the final he led for much of the heat and earned the best single-wave score, a seven-point taka on a large set wave, before finishing second with 13.40 points.

Roediger moves up to third in the rankings, 7,500 points behind Paré Rico. He is expected to discard a low 2,500-point result from a lower-tier event in Puerto Rico. That means he can still be crowned world champion if he wins in Chile and Paré Rico finishes outside the top five.

Spanish victory in the junior division

Spain’s Javier Escribano Toribio, the 2025 boys’ junior world wave champion, won the Junior Boys division in Hawaii, ahead of Greece’s Jason Papanikolaou and France’s Raphael Dumesnil.

A sport in transformation

Paré Rico’s title defense comes in a season of major changes to the structure of professional windsurfing.

Earlier this year, the two rival professional windsurfing circuits — the established Professional Windsurfing Association and the independently operated International Windsurfing Tour — merged to create a single circuit: the World Windsurf Tour.

Since then, the unified circuit has expanded beyond its traditional European base, adding events in Hawaii, Fiji, Australia and Chile.

A new five-star competition system means all events now count toward the world ranking. The addition of new destinations and more opportunities to earn points has opened the title race to new contenders.

“Unifying the sport under a single circuit was aimed at giving all riders a fair opportunity to fight for the world title. This season, both titles will be decided at the last event, with new contenders in the mix. That’s exactly what we were looking for with the unification.” – Simeon Glasson, World Windsurf Tour director.

The women’s world title will also be decided at the final event

The women’s world title will also be settled in Chile.

France’s Marine Hunter won in Hawaii and sits just 15 points behind Germany’s Lina Erpenstein, who finished second. Germany’s Maria Behrens took third and remains mathematically in contention for the title.

Aloha Classic results

World ranking with one event remaining

Event information
Event: Aloha Classic – World Windsurf Tour
Location: Ho’okipa Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii, USA
Dates: October 19–30, 2026
Where to watch: Replays and live broadcasts at worldwindsurftour.com
Next event: Grand Final, Chile – November 14–29, 2026

About the World Windsurf Tour
The World Windsurf Tour was created in 2026 after the merger of the Professional Windsurfing Association and the International Windsurfing Tour. It is the sport’s international professional circuit and encompasses the wave, slalom, foil and freestyle disciplines.

The 2026 World Wave Tour consists of 10 four- and five-star events held in Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, Germany, Hawaii, Scotland and Spain.

Rankings and live broadcasts: worldwindsurftour.com.

Photographs

High-resolution images:
https://worldwindsurftour.com/events/the-aloha-classic-hawaii-usa/photos
Photo credit: Fish Bowl Diaries.

CONTACT:
Jane Seman
PR Officer
+61 408 909 643
[email protected]

This contant was orignally distributed by Noticias Newswire. Blockchain Registration, Verification & Enhancement provided by NewsRamp™. The source URL for this press release is Spain's Marc Paré Rico Wins the Aloha Classic and Strengthens His Lead in the Fight for the Windsurfing World Title in Hawaii.