The second edition of the Euro Tour Punta Ala Sparrowhawk SUP Challenge in memory of Sara D’Apolito concluded successfully. Despite the fact that the weather conditions did not bode well, the event saw the participation of 60 athletes out of 100 registered, from all categories and the four corners of the world.
At the start, the morning was quite challenging with rain and wind, but over the course of the day things improved for the 2024 European Tour in Punta Ala, Italy, which ran smoothly. In the afternoon even a shy sunshine appeared!
All participants definitely deserved their finish today, and the race provided some very intense moments among the specialists, who pulled out determination and strength to bring home the result
In the women’s race, Puerto Rican Marie Carmen Rivera had her eyes on the trophy from the start and, with a great downwind strategy, captured her first gold medal. With a tough battle for second place, France’s Melanie Lafenetre had to fight to the end to hold off Argentina’s Juliette Du Haime, who fought to the last for third place. Not far behind, another Frenchwoman, Anais Guyomarch, finished fourth after a very consistent race. Rounding out the Top5 was Italy’s Cecilia Pampinella who chose a difficult line downhill but still managed to take 5th place.
Top 10 Women:
Mari Carmen Rivera 
Melanie Lafenetre 
Juliette Du Haime 
Anais Guyomarch
Cecilia Pampinella 
Susak Molinero 
Mariana Mangialasche
Julia Risso
Geraldine Lachkar
In the men’s race, Japan’s Shuri Araki, a world champion at only 17 years of age, completely dominated the windward part of the course, maintaining the momentum until the end and thus winning his first gold medal. Silver went to Dutchman Donato Freens, who, in a race characterized by progressive intensity, showed an excellent performance in the second part of the course. France’s Ethan Bry rounded out the podium in third place. In another heated contest to the last, Japan’s Rai Taguchi, who finished fourth, fought an epic duel with Italy’s Paolo Marconi, thus completing the Top 5.
A particularly exciting moment was the awarding of a young participant, only 5 years old, who received his first gold medal, showing that he has a promising future in SUP.
Top 10 Men:
Shuri Araki 
Donato Freens 
Ethan Bry
Rai Taguchi
Paul Marconi
Ricardo Rossi
Eri Tenorio 
Ollie Houghton 
Leo Nica
Thomas Pampinella
Special thanks to the PuntAla Camp & Resort team for their outstanding hospitality and organization, which made this wonderful day of sports in Sara’s memory possible.
We invite everyone to check out the full results and photo gallery at the following link: Results and Photos
See you on the water!
