SUP stars Zane Schweitzer and Fiona Wylde dominate the wave.

(Press Release) Whilst surpassing the 250,000 visitors mark, the boot Düsseldorf celebrates stand-up paddling on the final day and inspires a growing surfing community.

On the final Sunday of the 51st boot Düsseldorf, surfing with paddle and SUP board was put in the spotlight in surf hall 8a. There, for the SUP stars Fiona Wylde from Hood River (USA) and her prominent teammate Zane Schweitzer from Maui (Hawaii), almost everything they touched became gold. The two top favourites won the women’s and men’s SUP Wave Masters in the wave. They demonstrated the best moves and their mastery on THE WAVE by citywave®.

At the Short Track Masters in the flatwater pool, on the other hand, the Starboard 1 dream team with Fiona Wylde, Waterman Zane “Zaniac” Schweitzer and multiple German SUP sprint champion Carsten Kurmis (Munich) had to face team Fanatic with Germany’s Paulina Herpel, the only just 19 years old high-flyer Christian Andersen (Denmark) and Valentin Illichmann from Munich in the thriller final. Said 21-year-old Paulina Herpel, who is a successful SUP rider for ten years and describes stand-up paddling in natural waves as “my matter of the heart”: “We were good here today as we acted as a team. That was crucial for the SUP Short Track Masters.” Fanatic’s top trio with the multiple German champion won the new team competition for short trackers after a tie with the Starboard Stars only in a final run-off between Zane Schweitzer and Christian Andersen. The Scandinavian was able to prevail against the favourite among the cheers of thousands of fans around the flatwater pool.

In the last hours of the world’s largest water sports fair with a total of more than 250,000 visitors, the men’s SUP Wave Masters provided full grandstands. The qualification started with 16 candidates the day before, the competition ended with a four-way battle, in which the pros Zane Schweitzer and the great Dane Christian Andersen delivered another spectacular duel. Zane Schweitzer triumphed for the first time following two second places in 2018 and 2019. The 15-time world champion in various surfing disciplines such as SUP, surfing, foiling, windsurfing and kitesurfing has stood on the boards that have meant the world to him since he can walk. Above all, he thanked the audience: “It is your love that always brings me back to the boot Düsseldorf. It’s been a great pleasure for me to be here.” Germany’s Carsten Kurmis, who celebrated his 52nd birthday on the final day, took third place among the SUP men in the wave.

The women’s SUP Wave Masters were shaped by Fiona Wylde, who despite her diabetes is one of the most successful SUP athletes worldwide. She was unbeatable in her fourth Masters win in a row in Düsseldorf. The likeable 22-year-old raved about her visit of boot Düsseldorf: “It is incredibly impressive how much passion there is for surfing in this hall. Actually, surfing is an outdoor sport. And all this happens in the middle of winter. It rather feels like a cool event in summer.” When asked about the source of her extraordinary dynamism on the SUP board, the 2014 junior windsurfing world champion said with sparkling eyes: “I surf like this because I want it.” The German SUP specialist Paulina Herpel and SUP newcomer Rosina Neuerer took third and second respectively.

In Germany, SUP sport is going stronger and stronger. More than a million people have already had contact with the longer board and paddle in one way or another. The sport only moved into Germany in 2008/2009. It’s various disciplines such as racing on short and long distances, short track, wave or whitewater and hiking variants as well as yoga on the board continue to enjoy increasing popularity. “The interest in SUP increased by leaps and bounds around 2015,” explains Florian Brunner, CEO and partner of APM Marketing and member of the boot Düsseldorf’s advisory council. The expert assumes that more than 500,000 SUP boards have been sold in Germany to date. Which is why the SUP sport in all it’s colours was once again an important part of the world’s largest water sports exhibition.

www.boot.de

FINAL RESULTS

SUP SHORT TRACK MASTERS

1st Team Fanatic (Paulina Herpel, Christian Andersen, Valentin Illichmann)
2nd Team Starboard 1 (Fiona Wylde, Zane Schweitzer, Carsten Kurmis)
3rd Team Starboard 2 (Tinca Tusche, Ole Schwarz, Benny Kohl)

SUP WAVE MASTERS WOMEN

1st Fiona Wylde (Hood River, USA)
2nd Paulina Herpel (Hamburg, Germany)
3rd Rosina Neuerer (Munich, Germany)

SUP WAVE MASTERS MEN

1st Zane Schweitzer (Maui, Hawaii)
2nd Christian Andersen (Kitmøller, Denmark)
3rd Carsten Kurmis (Munich, Germany)