Mondello Water Festival 2024

News

May 8

Written By Staff

MONDELLO, ITALY - It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and plenty of wind in Mondello, Italy for the Water Festival. The event had some surprises in store with plenty of stories and upsets along the way.

In the women's race, Mariecarmen Rivera dominated and led the race from the start to the finish. She made her move on the upwind leg and comfortably sustained the lead until the end.

There was a bit of repetition from last weekend as Mélanie Lafenetre won the silver medal. However, it wasn't an easy task to keep Juliette DuHaime in third place, who showed great form throughout the race. The Spanish racer performed impressively, finishing in fourth place. Iona Rivet also had a consistent race, closing out the top five positions.

Top 10 Women:

Mari Carmen Rivera, Infinity
Melanie Lafenetre, 425 Pro
Juliette Du Haime, Infinity
Susak Molinero, Sunova
Iona Rivet, NSP
Cecilia Pampinella, Starboard
Claudia Postiglione, NSP
Laura Nitti, Infinity
Sveva Sabato, NSP
Velia Pisanelli, Infinity

In the men's race, Shuri Araki dominated one of the biggest fields of the season. He patiently waited for the downwind leg to make his move and secure the gold medal. David Leão, who had gotten off the plane, sprinted to the finish and claimed a highly impressive silver medal. Donato Freens took home the bronze medal, with Filippo Mercuriali from Italy just missing out on a podium finish in fourth place. Ludovic Teulade finished fifth with a strong performance. It's worth mentioning that the rest of the top 10 finishers were all within 20 seconds of each other, showing the intense competitiveness of the entire field.

Top 10 Men:

Shuri Araki, Flying Fish
David Leao, SIC Maui
Donato Freens, Infinity
Filippo Mercuriali, Starboard
Ludovic Teulade, SIC Maui
Blue Ewer, NSP
Rai Taguchi, Starboard
Davide Alpino, Starboard
Ollie Houghton, Starboard
Eri Tenorio, Flying Fish

Check out the Full results HERE.

The highlight of the event was the girl's race in the afternoon, which featured some intense competition and plenty of smiles. We would like to extend our gratitude to Vincenzo, Luca, and the entire staff of Water Festiva for their dedication and hard work in transforming this small regional venue into a thriving festival with a variety of different sports on offer. It is now the most successful international event in Italy to date.