Marine Hunter hat sich bei der Aloha Classic einen souveränen Sieg in der Pro-Women-Klasse gesichert und ist damit auf den zweiten Platz im Kampf um den Weltmeistertitel vorgerückt – nur 15 Punkte hinter der Weltranglistenersten Lina Erpenstein (Severne Windsurfing). Maria Behrens (Duotone Windsurfing) erreichte das Finale und belegte den dritten Platz, rutschte durch dieses Ergebnis jedoch in der Gesamtwertung vom zweiten auf den dritten Platz ab.
It was far from a typical Hawaiian day. Rain, heavy cloud, patchy wind and a shifting overhead swell greeted the riders, and with only two days left in the waiting period, organisers continued with the sudden-death format in which only the top two in each four rider heat advanced. Under that pressure, it was the tour’s most seasoned campaigners who adapted best.
Hunter, winner of the 2026 Maui Pro in April, controlled the day from start to finish. Powerful lip hits, big floaters and confident aerials carried her through every heat she contested, clearly announcing her as the rider to beat in Hawaii. With two event wins now banked this season, a seventh place or better at the final stop in Chile will lift her points total – although whether that is enough to secure the crown will also depend on how Erpenstein fares in her favoured port tack conditions.
“That was tough work. I had no idea I had won because I only had three waves, and only one good one. Now I’m happy, but I was in shock.”, Marine Hunter.
Erpenstein arrived on Maui with little pre-event training, yet rode with assurance to second place – her best ever result in Hawaii. She came perilously close to an early exit, scraping through her opening heat by just 0.02 of a point ahead of rising Japanese talent Natsuki Wakasa, before growing in confidence to win her semi-final convincingly. Smart equipment choices proved decisive: by staying on bigger gear, she was able to pick off the better set waves, hold her speed and attack the critical sections.
“I’m super stoked to make the final. It was hard to find the power today, but I was really happy to be there.” current World Tour leader, Lina Erpenstein.
Behrens produced a standout display in her opening heat, combining sharp wave selection with critical turns to post the second-highest heat total of the day (12.55). However, she was unable to repeat that form in the final as the wind began to fade. Though disappointed, Behrens remains in mathematical contention heading into next month’s season finale in Chile, should both Erpenstein and Hunter miss the final there.
Former world wave champion and multiple Aloha Classic winner Angela Cochrane drew on her superior local knowledge to pick out the larger, peeling waves, linking impressive rail-to-rail turns with critical hits to reach the final. Equipped with only a 4.6m sail, though, she could not stay competitive as the breeze deteriorated, and finished fourth.
Browne Ousted as Pro Men’s Final Takes Shape
In arguably the biggest upset of the day, Marcilio Browne was eliminated in the Pro Men’s semi-finals by a flawless Marc Paré (Simmer Windsurfing) and the ever-entertaining Antoine Martin dealing a heavy blow to the Brazilian’s world title hopes.
In tricky conditions that caught out some of Maui’s best local riders, 2025 World Wave Champion Paré was faultless. He timed every section to perfection, unleashing vertical hits, tweaked aerials, a wave 360 and a goiter to top the heat with 13.82.
“Coming into this season I was not sure I could put myself in a position to win another world title. It’s really exciting, but I’m trying not to think about the title. All I want to do is sail my best and show what I can do. But it was my goal to make the final at the Aloha Classic.” – Marc Paré
Martin was equally fired up, deploying a confident mix of strong aerial hits and a one-handed goiter to post 12.88 and seal his place in the final.
Browne still landed some excellent individual moves but never quite found the waves or rhythm to string together multiple high-scoring manoeuvres in the changeable conditions.
Displaying cat-like reflexes, Bernd Roediger (Flikka) once again made the impossible look possible, dominating the second semi-final with a heat total of 14.90. His opening two waves proved his best. The first featured a stylish tail blow off the main peak, followed by a lip climb and an aerial; the second was even more jaw-dropping, with a tweaked air taka off the main peak and a powerful carve.
The remaining final berth came down to a tight three-way battle between Morgan Noireaux (JP / NeilPryde), Liam Dunkerbeck (Duotone Windsurfing) and Thomas Traversa. Traversa charged the heaviest, most critical sections with ease, never straying from the power zone. The fast-improving Dunkerbeck drew on his surfing pedigree to deliver a stunning display of speed, power and flow, finding more sections than most and packing his rides with tweaked aerials, radical hits and power carves.
In the end, though, Noireaux snatched the coveted spot with his last two rides. The first combined a clean hit, a tweaked aerial and a one-handed cutback; on the second he added a rotation and two lip hits to clinch his place with a heat total of 12.91.
Result 2026 Aloha Classic – Pro Women
1st Marine Hunter (FRA)
2nd Maria Behrens (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
3rd Angela Cochran (USA)
4th Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne Windsurfing)
Current Women’s Wave World Tour Rankings
1st Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne Windsurfing) – 30,255
points
2nd Marine Hunter (FRA) – 30,240 points
3rd Maria Behrens (GER | Duotone Windsurfing) – 27,970 points
Pro Men’s Finalists
? Marc Paré (ESP | Simmer
Windsurfing)
? Antoine Martin (FRA)
? Bernd Roediger (USA | Flikka)
? Morgan Noireaux (HI | JP /
NeilPryde)