James Carew won his fifth GKA Kite-Surf world title on Sylt. He beat Gabriel Benetton in the men's final at Brandenburger Strand by 0.2 points, 20.90 to 20.70, on the organiser's count. The GKA Kite World Tour published the results on 29 August 2026, and Carew has now put out his own film of the event on YouTube.
The title was decided at the last stop of a two-event tour. Carew, the Australian Duotone rider, trailed Benetton after the freestyle section and then landed a final 313.
Who won the GKA Kite-Surf final on Sylt
James Carew won the final, and the GKA named him 2026 GKA Kite-Surf World Champion. The GKA's results article gives the men's top four:
- 1st: James Carew (AUS)
- 2nd: Gabriel Benetton (BRA)
- 3rd: Matchu Lopes (ESP)
- 4th: Airton Cozzolino (ITA)
The organiser's website runs the event under the Defender name and describes Benetton as 22 years old.
How the final against Benetton was decided
A final 313 decided it. In the GKA's report, both riders finished the freestyle trick segment with Benetton slightly ahead. Carew then landed a final 313, scored 8.67, and the GKA says that took the win by a fraction of a point.
The organiser gives the totals. Carew finished on 20.90 points and Benetton on 20.70, a margin of 0.2. The GKA reports the deciding trick and the organiser reports the totals. The two accounts fit together and agree on the result.
The road to the final
Carew beat Lorenzo Casati in the last quarter-final. The GKA said Casati struggled to find the scores he needed. The GKA's report says Lopes was then automatically placed 3rd, which set up the final: Gabriel Benetton vs. James Carew.
Why only two GKA Kite-Surf events counted
The tour opened with the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Cape Verde at Ponta Preta / Kite Beach, Sal, from 16 to 21 February 2026. In its preview of the finale, the GKA said conditions there prevented the men's final rounds from being completed, so the title race was still open going into Germany. Duotone reported that Carew and Sebastian Ribeiro (BRA) were named joint winners of the Cape Verde stop.
The kite-surf titles were not supposed to be decided on Sylt. The local site dein-sylt.online reported that the season finale moved to the beach at Westerland after the last tour stop, in Brazil, was cancelled. The GKA has not confirmed that cancellation in anything available to this report.
The GKA's preview had Carew, a Cape Verde finalist, at the top of the men's field as top seed. The reigning world champion Pedro Matos and his fellow Brazilian Sebastian Ribeiro were missing from the draw.
Carew wrote about the short tour in his video description: "Although we only had two events this year it meant they were both a good challenge and there was not room for mistakes."
How many world titles James Carew has
The organiser counts five. It calls this the fifth world title of his career and notes that he had already won on Sylt in 2024. His Instagram bio reads "5 x WORLD CHAMPION" and "World #1".
Not every record has caught up. Duotone's athlete page still lists "4 x World Champion" as his biggest career achievement. Duotone wrote that his win in Tarifa made him the 2023 GKA Big Air Surfboard World Champion and was his third world title. None of the material confirms the year of his fourth.
Our own records show he came back from an 18-month injury layoff to win the Sylt stop in 2024, and finished 3rd at the 2025 Taiba finale. The GKA's athlete page lists his date of birth as 14 Jul 1999.
What Carew said about Sylt
No primary source carries a quote from Carew at the event itself. His comments come from the description of his YouTube video, "Winning my 5th WORLD TITLE - SYLT". There he wrote that the title came after a few years away from the top, and that the two events "definitely brought the best out of me." About the venue he wrote: "Sylt has been a tough event since the beginning of time".
He also gave thanks to God and to the people who support him. Woodley hall edited the film, with extra footage from Juilien Leleu and Diogo Cardoso.
What gear James Carew rides
His Instagram bio tags @duotone.kiteboarding, @quobbafins_kitesurf, @capitalcom_adventure and @casabufarda. Our athlete records list Duotone and SunGod as his current brands. The material does not say which board and kite he used on Sylt.
Hydrofoil results from the Sylt finale
Hydrofoil Big Air titles were also decided at the event. The GKA's results article lists Andrea Zust (CHE) and Hugo Wigglesworth (NZL) as the two winners, each placed 1st.
What comes next on the GKA Kite World Tour
Maxime Chabloz and Bruna Kajiya were crowned 2026 GKA Freestyle Kite World Champions at the season finale at Ilha do Guajiru. The material does not include a kite-surf calendar for next year, so Carew's title defence has no date or venue yet.
