Lanzarote has surprised during the grand final of the Lanzarote iQFoil Games 2022 with strong winds of more than 20 knots from the southeast and many waves that no one expected, in addition to haze, which has alerted the competitors of the top 10 male and female who were playing for a place on the podium and aspired to compete against the Spanish Pilar Lamadrid and the French Nicolás Goyard in the final. However, no one has been able to snatch the crown from them. "It was my first victory in an international competition where the final was exciting, although very hard, so I came out with a cool head, observing the rounds before mine a lot, since I was betting everything on one," Lamadrid declared.
Due to the weather there have been many falls that cost the qualifying places, "any small failure left you out," said the Andalusian sailor, who managed to emerge undefeated from the confrontation against the French team formed by Marion Mortefon and Lucie Belbeoch, who take second and third place respectively. "I am very happy because I started in tenth place and I have managed to finish second," Marion Mortefon said with emotion. For both it was an epic day, although "at first I was scared with the weather, but finally it was a good day, it was also fun to compete in the medal race with my partner," said Lucie Belbeoch.
In the men's category, the Frenchman Nicolas Goyard also managed to emerge victorious after facing in the final against the Brazilian Mateus Isaac and the British Finn Hawkins, who snatched the second and third place on the podium from the Dutch duo. "It was quite a challenge, there was a lot of wind and waves, but it has been quite a show," exclaimed Goyard after winning the medal race. His Brazilian opponent also believes that the conditions were too harsh, although he started very well in the final, but "finally Nico has been very fast, although anyway I am very happy to have achieved second place," said Isaac. And the Lanzarote weather has pushed the sailors to the limit, "the final was very intense, I was lucky because two sailors fell in front of me," confessed the British, who finally stays with the third place.
During the grand final lived in Marina Rubicón, the top 10 male and female not only faced each other to be able to challenge the leaders, but also had to survive in the Lanzarote regatta field. "People had to become more aware of changing the settings of their equipment to face the storm and prepare their material rather to survive instead of being the fastest," explained Gonzalo Costa, secretary of this Olympic class of the International iQFoil Class Association. However, it was possible to perform all the rounds, although "there were many falls, something that does not usually happen, which also made it very attractive, in fact, a stadium was set up in Marina Rubicón, since the route was very close to the port," said Costa.
But finally Pilar Lamadrid and Nicolas Goyard managed to maintain their position and retain the crown. In this Olympic class, the leader of each ranking waits until competing in a final of 3, while the rest of the competitors of the top 10 (male and female) compete among themselves to get a pass to the podium and challenge the leader of each category. "Pilar and Nico have been unbeatable, even with these extreme conditions, everyone has been very happy and will stay for the Lanzarote International Regatta to be held in February, so things continue," commented Gonzalo Costa. According to the Spanish sailor, "now it's time for a little rest and we will return to Lanzarote to continue training and do the Olympic week in mid-February," concluded Pilar Lamadrid.
