Valentin Has Done It!

Wednesday 20th November 2019
Location: Cumbuco, Brazil
Words: Jim Gaunt
Photos: Svetlana Romantsova 
Video: Laci Kobulsky 

It took three incredible nine point scores and an 8.97 to do it, but 17 year-old Valentin Rodriguez from Colombia claimed his first World Title this afternoon in Cumbuco at the final GKA Freestyle World Cup event of the season – the Superkite Brazil.

Dominican Adeuri Corniel held a small lead over Valentin at the top of the championship coming into this final event and the title was down to a fight between these two.

This situation was that if they both made the final, then whoever finished higher would win the title; it was that close. Crucially they both stormed their way into the final. 

All today’s heat notes and elimination ladder standings here on the live event page. 

Catch up on today’s livestream below.

SCROLL TO: The final starts at around 01.51.00 on the timeline.
There is then a long break due to someone ditching their kite in the competition zone and the lines got caught around the rescue jetski’s prop, forcing an hour’s delay. So when you get to that – scroll forward again to: 03.09.00

SUPERKITE BRAZIL EVENT RESULT
Valentin Rodriguez: 37.3 (World Champion)
Adeuri Corniel: 35 (Vice World Champion)
Liam Whaley: 32.7
Luis Alberto Cruz: 31.06*

VALENTIN’S WINNING TRICK LIST
319 scoring: 8.97
Slim 9 scoring: 9.27
KGB7 scoring: 9.43
Heart attack 7 scoring: 9.63

Podium quotes:

Liam: “Congrats to Val for winning a world title at 17. This event has been amazing. I’d like to have been on the top step, but this event has still been amazing.”

Luis: Something very nice in Spanish! (Sorry, this Brit reporter needs to improve his languages!)

Adeuri: “It was a really good fight, but Val is super good. But coming to this event in first was great and let’s kick some ass next year.”

Val: “I have no words now to explain. I just want to thank Duotone and everyone who is supporting me now and I’m looking forward to sending it even more!”

Catch up all today’s full heat notes and elimination ladder standings here on the live event page. 

More analysis coming soon. 

Tomorrow we run the women’s final heats! First possible start 9am (GMT -3) 

* On the livestream Luis Alberto Cruz scored 9.4 points on his second trick, which the judge’s scoring tablets had wrongly listed as a backside 319. It was in fact a frontside 319. His score for that trick remained the same, but it meant that his last trick – a 317, which had scored 7.67 – was also in that same family of tricks, so didn’t count. As his four scoring tricks needed to come from four different families, it then meant that his fifth trick – a backside 317, scoring 4.83  – would now need to be included in his new overall lower heat score. All this crucially meant that Liam Whaley overtook him into third at this event, pushing Luis to fourth. Those vital extra points could affect Liam’s overall championship standings… which are currently being verified and will be released very soon.