The reigning World Champions mean business — Kajiya and Flügel both claim victory at the first freestyle stop of the 2026 season
GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup Mexico
26-30 May, 2026 | Nuevo Nayarit
Nuevo Nayarit, Mexico, hosted the GKA Kite World Tour for the opening Freestyle stop of the 2026 season, welcoming 15 men and 8 women to the start of a new competitive year. A brand-new destination on the tour calendar, Nuevo Nayarit has rolled out the red carpet for athletes and crew alike — the beginning of what we hope will become a regular annual fixture on the GKA Freestyle circuit.
Day one combined registration, the opening ceremony, and the first day of competition.
With 16 knots filling in from midday, conditions allowed the opening rounds of both the men’s and women’s draws to get underway without delay.
A few notable names are missing from the roster for this opener — Gianmaria Coccoluto and Matteo Dorotini on the men’s side, Therese Taabbel and Francesca Bagnoli on the women’s — opening the door for the next generation of riders to make their mark, including a strong contingent of local Mexican talent.
Women’s Draw
The women’s fleet of 8 riders features three Mexican athletes — Sara Ricaurte, Aleksa Sanchez, and Ananda Gamio — competing on home water. Reigning World Champion Bruna Kajiya arrived in Mexico chasing her seventh world title, while Spain’s Claudia Leon looked sharp and ready for the new season. Poland’s Martyna Konkel and Italian duo Nais Balbinot and Anna Bongiorno rounded out the line-up.
After two rounds of intense competition on day one, the field narrowed to four finalists: Bruna Kajiya, Claudia Leon, Martyna Konkel, and Aleksa Sanchez.
The women’s final delivered a thrilling showcase of freestyle kiteboarding on Thursday afternoon. Defending World Champion Bruna Kajiya wasted no time asserting her dominance, opening with two commanding scores to establish an early and convincing lead that she never relinquished. Claudia León impressed throughout, executing a series of technical tricks with precision and clean landings. Local wildcard Aleksa Sanchez was a crowd favourite, earning her place in the final on home soil — but ultimately found the gap to her more experienced rivals too great to bridge. When the scores were tallied, Martyna Konkel claimed third, despite getting stung by a jellyfish in the final moments, Claudia Leon took second, and Bruna Kajiya sealed the victory to kick off her title defence in style at the first freestyle event of the 2026 season.
Final results:
1st Bruna Kajiya (BRA)
2nd Claudia León (ESP)
3rd Martyna Konkel (POL)
4th Aleksa Sanchez (MEX)
The men’s fleet saw the majority of the top-ranked athletes advance through to the semi-finals.
The semi-finals took place on Thursday with nice wind conditions. The format remained the same, with 7 trick attempts and the top 4 scores counting. Mexican athlete Anthar Racca is still on top of his freestyle game, but he struggled to land his first trick attempts. He was going massive on each attempt, but the landings were tough and he paid the price. Leo Verracchia was on good form and managed to lock down some solid scores. He was locked into a battle with Davi Ribeiro for a spot in the final, but Davi made a strategic mistake, not landing tricks from 4 different families, and lost his spot in the final. Leo advanced through together with Maxime Chabloz was riding well with clean execution and cleared his way to the final at the top of the heat.
In the second semi-final, Eliott Panet and Karim Mahmoud struggled to find their rhythm, plagued by inconsistent landings that kept their scores low and ultimately ended their run at the event. Arthur Guillebert and Finn Flügel, in contrast, delivered cleaner, more composed riding to secure their spots in the final.
The men’s final proved to be an intense battle, with every rider hungry for the first event win of the season. Verrecchia and Guillebert both had shaky openings, crashing their first trick attempts, while Flügel and Chabloz quickly began stacking clean scores. The choppy conditions made landing anything a challenge across the board. Leo, competing in his first-ever final, threw caution to the wind and went all in — but couldn’t quite get his landings to stick. As the heat progressed, the podium battle narrowed to three: Guillebert, Chabloz, and Flügel. Guillebert looked set to take it with a massive 9-point score, but Flügel refused to give ground — closing out the heat in first place with 32.37 points. Guillebert took second, Chabloz third, and Verrecchia fourth.
Finals results:
1st Finn Flügel (GER)
2nd Arthur Guillebert (FRA)
3rd Maxime Chabloz (SUI)
4th Leo Verracchia (AUS)
And with that, the curtain came down on the first freestyle event of the 2026 season at the spectacular setting of Nuevo Nayarit. Mexico delivered everything a season opener could ask for — world-class riding, stunning scenery, and an electric atmosphere that set the tone for the year ahead. We can’t wait to return. But for now, attention turns north — the tour heads to Borkum, Germany, where the second freestyle stop of the season gets underway next week.
words: Gemma Hamaini
images: Samuel Cardenas