Neubauer Seals Second PWA Freestyle World Title at Sylt

Lennart Neubauer secured the 2026 PWA Freestyle World Championship on Saturday at the Citroën Windsurf World Cup Sylt. His single-elimination victory from Wednesday stood when shifting, sideshore winds of only 12 to 14 knots made a double elimination impossible.

A crown sealed by silence

Neubauer had already beaten Dieter Van Der Eyken and Takumi Moriya in the single elimination on 30 September. Organisers began checking conditions as early as 7:30 on Saturday morning. The wind never cooperated, and the double was abandoned.

Two titles, one unbeaten season

The 22-year-old, born in Bremen and raised on Naxos, did not lose a freestyle heat all year. He won the World Cup stop in Fuerteventura and then the Sylt finale to finish the season undefeated. Switzerland's Balz Müller took second overall, while Belgium's Yentel Caers — the man who beat Neubauer at Sylt in 2025 — placed third.

Neubauer first became world champion in 2024. This second title, clinched on German sand, swung the arc back.

"When I was ten, I told myself for the first time that my goal was to become world champion," Neubauer said shortly after the announcement. "It finally happened in 2024, and now my second world title — it's unbelievable."

The ten-day festival drew more than 200,000 visitors to Brandenburger Strand, though the wave discipline never ran. The awards ceremony took place in bright sunshine, and next year's edition is already fixed for the same beach.