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Friday 23rd September, 2011 - 11:21am

Some stats to chew on, (Please leave comments below or mail if you know different! Thanks):  Philip Koester is the youngest ever PWA World Champ aged 17. Jose 'Gollito' Estredo was also 17 when he won the first of his 4 World Freestyle Titles but there is an age difference just of 3 weeks between them!

Koester's achievement is of particular significance as Wavesailing Titles have traditionally been won by older, more experienced riders.

The youngest wave champ previous to this was Kauli Seadi aged 23 (07 and 08,) and, apart from Victor Fernandez's 2010 title (aged 26),  the Wave Crown has largely been held by wiser, more battle-hardened journeymen in their 30s - such as McKercher (05) , Angulo (09) and Kevin Pritchard (06).

As far as we know, Freestyler Steven Max was the youngest ever PWA competitor aged 13 - previously it was current world No2 Kiri Thode who was also 13 on debut.

Of course Robby Naish and Bjoern Dunkerbeck also won titles in their teens - Naish at just 13 - but these were earned either prior to or during the days of the PBA (Professional Boardsailing Association) which was superseded by the PWA (Professional Windsurfers' Association) in 1996.

Previous to Gollito's win Ricardo Campello was the youngest World Champ winning the first of his 3 Freestyle Trophies aged 19. Have a look at some other future contenders - one of whom, 10-yr old Alex Halank, already has a ProKids World Title that he won aged just 8! 

Issue 29 - Read it Now!