Maxime Chabloz and Bruna Kajiya are crowned 2026 GKA Freestyle Kite World Champions after a dramatic season finale at Ilha do Guajiru
GKA Kite World Cup Sylt
21 – 24 October, 2026 | Ilha do Guajiru, Brazil
The GKA Kite World Tour returned to Ilha do Guajiru, Brazil, for the final stop of the 2026 season. The tour last visited in 2020, and the spot has developed a lot in the years since.
Twenty-four men and fourteen women registered to compete, and by the end of the event, the 2026 Freestyle Kite World Champions would be crowned.
The home nation arrived in force. Legendary Carlos Mario made his return to competition after several seasons away, joining Davi Ribeiro, Erick Anderson, Pedro Alexandre, Joao Lucas and a group of local wild cards in one of the strongest Brazilian line-ups the tour has seen.
There was one notable absence. Reigning World Champion Finn Flügel was unable to travel to Brazil, ending his bid to defend the title for a second year and leaving the men’s crown wide open.
The women’s fleet featured a wave of new names, all set to take on the established stars of freestyle, including Bruna Kajiya, Claudia Leon and Francesca Bagnoli.
With world titles on the line and everything to play for, Ilha do Guajiru was ready for the world’s best freestylers to go to battle.
From the opening heat of round one, it was clear the riders had come to put on a show. Davi Ribeiro won an all-Brazilian heat ahead of Erick Anderson and Carlos Mario, but Matteo Dorotini stole the spotlight, landing powered trick after powered trick for 31.13 points, the highest total of the round, in front of the crowds at Hura Beach. Fellow Brazilian João Lucas also gave the home fans plenty to cheer about, beating Gianmaria Coccoluto to win his heat with 29.00 points. Title contender Maxime Chabloz did his job, winning heat 8 to go straight through to round 3.
Round 2 gave riders a second chance, with only the top two from each heat going through. Erick Anderson made the most of it with 22.37 points, and Gianmaria Coccoluto bounced back from his first-round defeat to win his heat. Carlos Mario’s comeback ended here, after a tight battle with Mexico’s Anthar Racca that came down to just 0.27 points.
Round 3 then delivered drama from start to finish. The first blow fell on the home crowd. Davi Ribeiro was eliminated after missing a required trick category, a painful exit for the local hero and for the fans who had packed the beach to cheer him on. Anthar Racca and Hironobu Nakano took the two semi-final places, with Benedek Szente also going out.
Arthur Guillebert’s title hopes ended in the next heat. Gianmaria Coccoluto and Matteo Dorotini both finished ahead of him to take the two places in the semi-finals, ending his chances of winning the 2026 World Title. Pierfrancesco Rizzello also bowed out.
Karim Mahmoud, by contrast, rode with real fire and booked his place in the semi-finals, keeping his slim title hopes alive. Erick Anderson went through alongside him, while Leo Verrecchia and Valentin Garat were eliminated.
Hura Beach erupted during the final heat of round 3. Brazil’s Pedro Alexandre rode the heat of his life, landing trick after trick to book his place in his first ever semi-final. Maxime Chabloz made a shaky start to the same heat, but he recovered and fought his way through to the semi-finals alongside him.
The same heat ended in disappointment for João Lucas. The Brazilian wild card, whose stunning opening heat had been one of the stories of the event, was injured on his first trick attempt and couldn’t continue. Einar Saad was also eliminated.
With that, the World Title race came down to two riders: Karim Mahmoud and Maxime Chabloz.
The men’s semi-finals brought together eight of the world’s best, each fighting for a place in the final, and the level was sky-high from the first trick.
In the first semi-final, Anthar Racca took control early, with Brazil’s Erick Anderson close behind. Matteo Dorotini fought hard to climb the standings, while Pedro Alexandre struggled with several crashed attempts and dropped off the pace. Racca and Anderson kept landing clean, powerful tricks, and their solid scores sent them both through to the final. For Dorotini and Alexandre, the event ended here.
The second semi-final carried all the pressure of the title race. A place in the final would seal the 2026 World Title for Maxime Chabloz. Karim Mahmoud’s only hope was for Chabloz to miss out, then win the event himself. With Hironobu Nakano and Gianmaria Coccoluto completing the heat, nobody was getting an easy ride.
Mahmoud struck first, landing a near-perfect Blind Slim to Blind for 9.4 points to jump into the lead. Nakano slipped behind, leaving Coccoluto, Mahmoud and Chabloz locked in a fierce battle for the top two places. Sitting in third, Chabloz was running out of time, and his rivals weren’t giving an inch.
It came down to the final round of tricks. Under huge pressure, Chabloz stomped a Double Half Cab that lifted him into second place at the last moment. He was through to the final, and with that, Maxime Chabloz was crowned the 2026 GKA Freestyle Kite World Champion. Karim Mahmoud joined him in the final, while Coccoluto and Nakano’s events ended here.
The men’s final brought together Maxime Chabloz, Karim Mahmoud, Anthar Racca and Erick Anderson, all four chasing a place on the podium.
All four riders made a strong start, and by the halfway point it was still anyone’s game, with big tricks and big scores landing across the board. Anderson began to fall behind, but Chabloz, Mahmoud and Racca stayed neck and neck right to the end.
It came down to the final round of tricks. Chabloz pulled out a Slim 7 that lifted him into first place by a fraction of a point, sealing the event win to go with his newly claimed World Title. Mahmoud had to settle for second, still the best result of his career, while Racca finished third and Anderson fourth.
Ilha do Guajiru Event Podium
1st Maxime Chabloz (CHE)
2nd Karim Mahmoud (EGY)
3rd Anthar Racca (MEX)
2026 Freestyle Kite World Championship Podium
1st Maxime Chabloz (CHE)
2nd Karim Mahmoud (EGY)
3rd Davi Ribeiro (BRA)
The wind picks up for the women’s opening rounds, and every rider in the fleet feels it.
France’s Phoebe Rocher handles it best among the newcomers. She puts together a stunning opening heat and shows just how deep the next generation of women’s freestyle runs.
Francesca Bagnoli and Naïs Balbinot also ride strong through the tough conditions.
Claudia León lands the highest-scoring trick of round three. She’s through to the semi-finals, and her dream of a first World Title is still alive.
But Bruna Kajiya is in a class of her own. The reigning World Champion dominates her opening heats and reminds everyone why she’s still the rider to beat.
Women’s round 4 gave Francesca Bagnoli and Matilda Roux a second chance, and both took it, raising their level to move through to the semi-finals. Maria Novikova and Taisia Safronova claimed the last two semi-final places.
The first semi-final was a showcase of experience. Francesca Bagnoli and Claudia León both rode at their very best to secure their places in the final. With two places in the final still up for grabs, Bruna Kajiya was focused on just one thing: making the final, with the 2026 World Title within reach. She delivered. Phoebe Rocher took the last spot, a well-deserved reward for the young French rider, who had impressed from her very first heat.
The final heat of the event, and of the 2026 season, was the women’s final. Phoebe Rocher, competing in her first ever final, went up against Francesca Bagnoli, Claudia León and Bruna Kajiya.
Kajiya opened strong, taking an early lead with a solid run of tricks. Her clean execution made her very hard to catch.Heading into the final round, León had climbed into second place, but she couldn’t hold it. With her very last attempt, Rocher landed a trick that pushed her up into second. Bagnoli couldn’t respond and finished fourth, with León in third. Rocher took second place in her first ever final, a breakthrough result for the young French rider. For Bruna Kajiya, it was the event win and her seventh World Title, sealed in front of her home crowd.
It was a fitting final to close the season, bringing together the sport’s rising talent and its most experienced champions.
Ilha do Guajiru Event Podium
1st Bruna Kajiya (BRA)
2nd Phoebe Rocher (FRA)
3rd Claudia León (ESP)
2026 Freestyle Kite World Championship Podium
1st Bruna Kajiya (BRA)
2nd Claudia León (ESP)
3rd Martyna Konkel (POL)
With that, the curtain came down on the 2026 GKA Freestyle season. Bruna Kajiya completed a perfect year, winning all three events on the calendar to claim her seventh World Title on home water. Maxime Chabloz, third in Mexico, followed his win in Borkum with victory in Brazil to take the men’s crown. Ilha do Guajiru delivered a finale full of breakthrough rides, home-crowd heartbreak and title drama right to the very last heat, and it set the stage for an exciting 2027 season.
words: Gemma Hamaini
images: Svetlana Romantsova