Munich Mash 2023 – more exciting and well attended than ever before!
What an exciting weekend it was again at the Olympiapark in Munich. Munich Mash is and remains a popular highlight of the European wakeboard summer.
But what makes this event so special? First and foremost, of course, the unique combination of different freestyle sports. This year again top athletes from skate, BMX and wakeboard came together. New: Streetdance! What connects all these disciplines? Action, creativity and style!
In addition, in the middle of Munich, combined with side events and street food Munich Mash reached an incredible attendance of 92,000 this year! When does wakeboarding have such a big stage? As a little warm-up for the showdown on Sunday, some of the riders already started the action weekend on Friday in the team contest. The draw on the lecture produced cool constellations like Julia Rick & Dominik Gührs, Pedro Caldas & Meagan Ethell as well as Trent Stuckey & Maryh Rougier.
The goal to collect the highest score in two runs together was reached by the American groms and Red Bull WakeDuel 2023 winners Rivers Hedrick and Gavin Stuckey. But the winners of the hearts were definitely Jamie Lopina and Felix Georgii, who playfully demonstrated the true team spirit to the audience on site and at home with creative and funny ideas.
Although the German summer was a little cloudy during training times, it was bright blue skies during broadcast time. This made the difficult set-up easier for the wakeboarders, at least weather-wise. With 33 km/h and a lot of walls and landing ramps, which created some critical slack moments, the already fast course was shortened even more. The world’s best riders didn’t let this challenge bother them and showed with long held grabs and cheeky taps on a high technical level how much wakeboarding has developed in the last years.
Trick highlights? Maybe the high Tantrum to Blind by Lisa Baloo, the Double Half Cab Roll by last year’s winner Nico von Lerchenfeld or the massive 900 at eye level of the judges by Pedro Caldas? Some riders and spectators also talked about Joe Battleday’s unique Hardway 270 on the back straight, which unfortunately caused him to stumble twice in the final. We were particularly impressed by the creative and cleverly put together runs, in which the riders showed that technique, safety and style also count for a versatile trick composition.
Last but not least, it has to be said that the Super final, both men’s and women’s, was decidedly friendly. Everyone wanted to ride through his run cleanly and stylishly, but wanted the best outcome for their friends too. According to the motto: May the best win! This was also the reason why the riders were happy with the winners Lisa Baloo and Pedro Caldas. Both riders have been participating for years and this year they could finally show what they are made of.
The classic champagne showers had to be cancelled this year – due to an increased number of underage athletes – but the 6 friends slid together into the lake via the launch dock to celebrate the day. What a cool end to an eventful weekend.
Missed the Munich Mash Finale? Red Bull got you covered. Here you can experience the almost 1.5 hours of exciting finals with the best vibes and next-level riding.