2026 Shanghai Freestyle Foil Invitational

Die letzten fünf Tage in China haben uns eine Mischung aus allen erdenklichen Wetterbedingungen beschert, doch glücklicherweise gab es am letzten Tag strahlenden Sonnenschein von morgens bis abends, als die Sieger des allerersten Shanghai Freestyle Foil Invitational gekürt wurden und damit den Vorhang für eine großartige erste professionelle Windsurf-Veranstaltung in China fallen ließen.

Balz Müller (Severne Windsurfing / SAB Foil) moments after being crowned the inaugural champion of the Shanghai Freestyle Foil Invitational: “Wow, what a time to be alive! I’m really speechless. I really want to say thanks to the organisation, to the PWA, for bringing us all here. We have definitely all been blown away by the welcoming community here in Shanghai, by the conditions and the weather, which has treated us to a bit of everything — from blue skies, to wind and rain. For me it's a dream come true and I'm so excited to come back already. I'm so freaking happy for Foil Freestyle and the other twelve sailors who showed this level of dedication to the sport.

And maybe last words:
Be kind, be honest and have fun.
Enjoy funboarding.”

Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who finished as vice-champion: “After what Yentel said it just got me thinking that if Balz didn’t start foiling in 2017/18 or '12 or whenever it was, then I don’t think any of us would have been as creative and have this discipline where it is now. So all of this in a sense really comes from the guy in the middle here [Balz]. Also, thank you to everyone for putting on this event, it’s been so special. I think we can all agree there's so much effort that went into it and it's almost like the conditions rewarded the effort that the people put in. And I'm very, very happy that I came and I'm very happy to come back next year for sure.”

Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde), who completes the podium at the first-ever Foil Freestyle event: “Thank you for having us here. It was a great time for us coming to China, something really special. It's the first time for the PWA, and for us to come here, and we had some great conditions for the event. I'm super stoked to see Balz winning — he's the one who invented this freestyle discipline on the foil, so it was meant to be that he won the first one. Also congrats to Lennart.”

During the afternoon the sailors will be treated to a tour of downtown Shanghai to cap a wonderful five days in China, and we hope to be back in 2027.

You can review all of the news and images from China — including elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker — simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Result 2026 Shanghai Freestyle Foil Invitational

1st Balz Müller (SUI | Severne Windsurfing / SAB Foil)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Yentel Caers (BEL | JP / NeilPryde)
4th Dudu Levi (ISR | Future Fly / GUNSAILS / SAB Foil)
5th Takumi Moriya (JPN | Severne Windsurfing)
6th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | WeOne / GUNSAILS)
7th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Tigo Kort (NED | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Bodhi Kempen (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
9th Tim Gerdes (CZE | HeyYou Sails)
9th George Grisley (UK | Duotone Windsurfing)
9th Luka Stomp (CUR | Point-7 / SAB Foil)
13th Leander Halm (GER | Starboard / Severne Sails / SAB Foil)

Result 2026 Shanghai Tow-In Exhibition