Team rider Jesse Richman wins King of the Air 2020

Hawaiian kiteboarder Jesse Richman out-classed past champions Nick Jacobsen and Aaron Hadlow to win a tightly-contested final at Cape Town’s Kite Beach.

It was a ‘day of days’ at Kite Beach in Cape Town, with the world’s finest big air kiteboard specialists pushing the limits. When the final siren went after 34 heats and some seven hours of competition, Hawaiian Jesse Richman ascended to the top step. His second victory since first winning Red Bull King of the Air in 2013.

“This feels incredible!” said a characteristically ecstatic Richman. “This is magical and it is amazing to have my newborn daughter here and share it with this crowd.”

Richman was runner-up to three-time champ, Kevin Langeree in 2019 and learned from that and other previous podium visits. “I’ve had really good heats leading up to the finals in many years and usually kind of cracked in the final, having peaked too early,” the Hawaiian added. Ironically it was Richman who halted the defending champ’s run in the quarter-finals this year.

While it was Richman’s second title, in keeping with the constant innovation of the event, it was a year of firsts at Red Bull King of the Air, featuring a new qualification and event format. Rounds 1 and 2 (which were made up of video entry winners, wildcards, and the four Fly to Red Bull King of the Air winners) were completed before lunchtime. From there, the top six riders from the 2019 event joined the fray, seeded into Round 3. The format provided a spectacular day of action for the crowd who lined Kite Beach with Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain in the background.

Marc Jacobs of New Zealand won the Woo Highest Jump of the Day, while Mystic Move of the Day went to Denmark's Nick Jacobsen for a kite-loop board off that scored a 9.02 out of a possible 10 in one of the earlier rounds.