Mount Maunganui kite surfer Marc Jacobs has landed the biggest win of his professional career after taking out the Professional Kite Riders Association Freestyle Beetle Kite Surf World Cup in Saint Peter Ording, Germany, at the weekend.
World No2 Jacobs made full use of the light winds which forced organisersto run 58 heats of the single and double eliminations on the same day. Conditions were challenging with a 20-knot wind and very choppy seas.
Jacobs won the single eliminations and then battled it out against Alex Pastor (Spain) in the first heat of the double elimination, but lost by .36 meaning a super final had to be run. The talented 23-year-old, who grew up near the Mount main beach, amazed the crowd with his tricks, leveraging his power to pull off a huge trademark Hindenburg mobe and his unique style of other moves to claim his impressive victory.
As pro rider for Tauranga-based SwitchKites, Jacobs rides the Combat2 kite model that was especially developed to suit his style and to showcase his technique. For Jacobs, all the hard work of the past seven years travelling the world finally paid off and he is a step closer to fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming world champion.
His next stop on the world tour will be the Fuerteventura Kiteboarding PKRA Grand Slam in Spain at the end of July.
Jacobs has been kiteboarding for 11 years, since he went down to Tay St beach on a windy day when he was 12 and saw legendary rider Dave Edwards in action.
He saved up his pocket money from delivering the Bay of Plenty Times for three years until he could afford his first kite on his 14th birthday. It took him another year to afford his first board and the rest is history.
