Tenby Foiler Gareth Morgan Climbs to Sixth in Global Downwind Rankings

Gareth "Mogsy" Morgan's GPS logs charted a remarkable ascent: 69th in the world on the 2025 hydrofoil downwind 10km leaderboard, and now sixth in 2026. The Tenby waterman's own assessment of that position was characteristically direct: "I'm right up there in the world rankings even with World Champion Hawaiian surfing brothers and watermen John and Nathan Florence."

The ranking appeared in the latest Hydrofoil monthly Downwind Leaderboard top-10, released on Instagram, and is calculated using the "extra distance" category: GPS-verified, surf-style navigation of ocean swells across a 10km split. It is not a head-to-head race but a precise measurement of how efficiently a foiler reads and connects open-ocean energy, alone with a board, a paddle, and a GPS unit that doubles as both coast guard safety protocol and performance record.

Morgan credited both his equipment and a deliberate physical overhaul for the improvement. "I'm getting faster and faster splits on my Sponsors Code 980S and 770R Hydrofoils," he said. "I've trained so hard to get my power to weight ratio at +90kg to a pro athlete form to perform at this level." He described the sensation at its best as "a real flow state when you're riding ocean swells, linking one wave to the next."

The achievement is rooted in a long technical backstory. Morgan was the first person to pioneer hydrofoiling in Wales, an interest developed on the British Kite Racing Circuit, where European carbon fibre hydrofoils were already pushing kite speeds beyond two and a half times the speed of the wind. He placed third in his division in the British Kite Racing Championship and was later invited to the Kitesurf Racing Olympic Trials at the British Sailing Academy in Weymouth, a competitive foundation that preceded his move into open-ocean downwinding.

That background now underpins a wider role across Welsh foiling. Morgan has been organising hydrofoil events throughout Pembrokeshire and South Wales, building participation from the same coastline where he developed his own skills. The rider chasing top-five global splits is often the same person who set out the course markers the week before.

His ambitions for the rest of 2026 are explicit: "I'm currently working hard on this incredible sport and hoping to make the top 50 world rankings splits in 2026, taking on Professional Watermen half my age!" He ended regional coverage with three words: "Watch this space. Cymru am byth.