Cape Town Honours World’s Best Kitesurfers At Global Kiteboarding Awards

Photo Credit: Supplied by GKA - South African watersport athletes recognised for world-class wave-breaking talent at Global Kiteboarding Awards hosted in Cape Town, January 2025 for the first time ever.

The third annual Qatar Airways GKA Awards, a celebration of kiteboarding excellence, recently took place in the vibrant city of Cape Town.

Cape Town, South Africa (21 January 2025) – The third annual Qatar Airways Global Kitesports Association Awards once again celebrated the pinnacle of kiteboarding achievements with a gala evening to honour 14 sport’s greats following its debut appearance at the kiteboarding mecca of Cape Town.

From jaw-dropping aerials to powerful wave riding, the GKA Awards celebrated the passion, skill, and sportsmanship of the world’s top kiteboarders!

And the winners are…

The big winner of the evening was Brazil’s Bruna Kajiya. The most senior woman on tour at 37, Kajiya won Female Rider of the Year after recently clinching a remarkable fifth Freestyle world title at the final in Qatar, capping a perfect season.

Kajiya put a cherry on the cake when she also won the Women’s Freestyle Move of the Year for a perfectly executed Combo (Slim to Back Mobe) trick that was the hallmark of her season. She won all the year’s three Freestyle events with some of the greatest riding of her storied career.

Spain’s Lorenzo Casati won the Male Rider of the Year award. The former Red Bull King of the Air winner displayed his prowess across multiple disciplines, landing podiums in Big Air Twin-tip and Hydrofoil, as well as the Kite-Surf discipline.

“Winning the Male Rider of the Year for me, it’s just super-special,” said Casati.

“I can’t believe it. It’s been a dream of mine for many years. This year has been great year, with so many great results in many different disciplines. I’ve trained hard and I’m super-happy.”

Britain’s Francesca Maini was awarded the Rookie of the Year trophy following her burst onto the Big Air Twin-tip scene, earning a second podium place at the final in Gran Canaria last July.

The evening also showcased mind-blowing moves, such as Josué San Ferreira’s Double-loop Board-off Front-flip and Mikaili Sol’s Doobie Board-off, which won the respective Big Air awards.

Multiple world champion Sol marked her comeback with a win at the opening Big Air event of the 2025 season on home waters in Brazil.

Men’s Freestyle Move of the Year went to the popular Egyptian Karim “Kimo” Mahmoud for a KGB Melon Grab Rewind that marked a big step up for him.

In the men’s Surfboard division, 2024 Kite-Surf world champion Gabriel Benetton was a master of consistency. Last year’s Rookie of the Year won the Surfboard-Freestyle Move of the Year for a Triple Front-roll Shove-it in competition in Germany, as well as the Wave of the Year for a barrel in Indonesia.

“This means a lot to me,” said Benetton.

“I started really young. I’ve only got two years on the tour. I got world champion last year and to get two awards, wave of the year and trick of the year is so insane. The Triple Front-roll Shove-it was a trick I dreamed about. Until today, I’ve landed it only four times, and once was in competition. It’s super-special.”

Women’s Kite-Surf world champion, France’s Capucine Delannoy, took the Surfboard-Freestyle Move of the Year for a Triple Front-roll in Sylt, Germany, which earned a perfect 10 and was a ‘world first’ in women’s competition.

She said the win was a dream come true!

“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 10. My older brother was one of the first to land it and I remember saying, I’m going to be the first girl to do it. It took me a couple of years. What makes it more special is that we have this trophy for best strapless move for women. I think it’s a big step forward. Being part of this with the other female athletes is really special,” Delannoy shared.

Hydrofoil Big Air Move of Year went to reigning and six-times world champion France’s Charles Brodel for a Front Double Contra-loop Board-off; in the same year, he was the first hydrofoil athlete to battle in the Red Bull King of the Air in Cape Town.

The Photo of the Year of Cohan van Dijk in action was captured by Samuel Cárdenas, his second successive win. The Video of the Year, FEAR by Julien Leleu, also highlighted the artistic brilliance inspired by kiteboarding.

A message from the CEO

GKA CEO Dr Jörgen Vogt said that staging the awards in Cape Town was the realisation of a long-held ambition that was made possible by unwavering support from all sides. He hoped the awards’ success would help put the image of kiteboarding and the GKA on a new plane.

“Coming to Cape Town is a dream. We’ve been working on it for 10 years. In my opinion, Cape Town is the best place we can run this awards night. Thanks to all those who supported us in Cape Town, we finally made it,” he said.

“Each World Cup event has its own agenda. It depends on where [in the world] we run the World Cups. But generally we’re trying to make kitesurfing and the GKA Kite World Tour more famous and more recognised by the general public. That will bring more and more people onto the stage of those who want to run an event, said Dr Vogt who also thanked sponsors who made the successful event possible.