Updated 2026-10-17

The world's best wakeboarders & Thailand's national team

Thailand plays an outsized role in world cable wakeboarding. In 2022 ESC Thai Wake Park in Rangsit, on Bangkok's northern edge, hosted the Singha IWWF World Cable Wakeboard & Wakeskate Championships, the first time the country staged the event, with around 300 athletes from more than 30 nations (sources differ slightly on the count). Germany's Max Milde and Julia Rick took the Open titles, and home rider Peeranat Faktongyu won Open Men bronze.

Away from contests, Thailand works as a winter base. Mystic Boarding notes that many riders head to Thai Wake Park in the European winter to start their season. Dominik Gührs spent about three months each winter training in Bangkok, Sanne Meijer said in a 2021 World Games interview that she trains in Thailand because she can ride for hours a day, and Julia Rick lists ESC Thai Wake Park as her home cable, according to her IWWF rider profile.

World's best cable riders

World champions and podium regulars, picked from official IWWF, World Games and WWA results.

🇩🇪 Julia RickReigning IWWF cable world champion & World Games gold

🇩🇪 Max Milde2× IWWF cable world champion (2022, 2026)

🇫🇷 Loïc Deschaux2025 World Games gold & 2024 IWWF world champion

🇳🇱 Sanne Meijer2024 IWWF cable world champion

🇺🇸 Gavin StuckeyWWA wake park world champ, 2026 IWWF world silver

🇮🇹 Claudia PagniniMultiple WWA wake park world champion

🇵🇭 Raph Trinidad3× IWWF cable world medallist (2019, 2022, 2024)

🇦🇹 Mariella Flemme2026 IWWF cable world silver medallist

🇩🇪 Florian Weiherer2024 world silver, 2025 World Games bronze

🇮🇹 Vanessa Tittarelli2025 World Games silver medallist

🇩🇪 Dominik Gührs2011 WWA wake park world champion

Recent cable world champions

Year	Event	Men	Women
2026	IWWF Cable Worlds – Shunyi Olympic Cable Park, Beijing, China	Max Milde (GER)	Julia Rick (GER)
2025	The World Games – Sancha Lake, Chengdu, China	Loïc Deschaux (FRA)	Julia Rick (GER)
2024	IWWF Cable Worlds – Le Kable, Choisy-le-Roi (Paris), France	Loïc Deschaux (FRA)	Sanne Meijer (NED)
2022	IWWF Cable Worlds – ESC Thai Wake Park, Rangsit, Thailand	Max Milde (GER)	Julia Rick (GER)
2019	IWWF Cable Worlds – Pampa Cable Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina	—	Julia Rick (GER)

Thailand's national team riders

Thai riders with medals at SEA Games, Asian and world championships.

🇹🇭 Peeranat Faktongyu2022 IWWF Cable Worlds bronze, Open Men

🇹🇭 Bhraebhim PipatsawaddhiTwo SEA Games 2025 team golds (boat & cable)

🇹🇭 Pisit Mahatthanajatuphat2025 SEA Games team gold, Asian silver

🇹🇭 Piti Siridhasnakul2025 SEA Games wakeboard team gold medallist

🇹🇭 Lalada LiewTwo SEA Games 2025 team golds (boat & cable)

🇹🇭 Paktanun Krisuwansarn2025 SEA Games cable team gold medallist

🇹🇭 Padiwat JaemjanThree-time SEA Games men's wakeboard champion

🇹🇭 Sanya Phonthip2019 SEA Games men's wakeboard gold medallist

🇹🇭 Patcharaporn Junnguluam2019 SEA Games women's wakeboard gold medallist

SEA Games 2025: three golds on home water

At the 33rd SEA Games, hosted by Thailand in December 2025, water ski and wakeboard offered four medal events, all mixed team events with no individual medals; in the boat events, a team's best three of four scores counted. According to Wikipedia, Thailand finished with three golds and one bronze.

Thai news and IWWF Asia place the boat wakeboard, wakesurf and slalom events at Rabbit Lake in Nong Chok, Bangkok, on 11 December, with cable wakeboard at ESC Thai Wake Park, scheduled for 15 December (Wikipedia gives different dates and a single venue). The cable team gold is, so far, reported only by Wikipedia.

Event	Riders
🥇 Wakeboard (boat) mixed team	Pisit Mahatthanajatuphat, Piti Siridhasnakul, Bhraebhim Pipatsawaddhi, Lalada Liew	Rabbit Lake, 11 Dec 2025 · 220 pts · silver Indonesia, bronze Philippines
🥇 Wakesurf mixed team	Songkrod Jomboon, Patrick Wongwut Macarthur, Annissa Tita Flynn, Kantita Chayliam	Rabbit Lake, 11 Dec 2025 · 240 pts · silver Indonesia, bronze Malaysia
🥇 Cable wakeboard mixed team	Paktanun Krisuwansarn, Lalada Liew, Bhraebhim Pipatsawaddhi, Sarawut Niamkhun, Benjamin Phechyuenyong, Peeranat Faktongyu	ESC Thai Wake Park · result as reported by Wikipedia (single source) · silver Singapore, bronze Philippines
🥉 Water ski slalom mixed team	Nattawut Hapholdee, Gina Buckley, Fendy Satnurak, Weeraya Rosendahl	Rabbit Lake, 11 Dec 2025 · gold Indonesia, silver Malaysia

Thailand's medal history

The standout name of the early era is Padiwat 'Bom' Jaemjan, a three-time SEA Games men's wakeboard gold medallist (2011, 2015 and 2017) according to Wikipedia, with team golds in 2015 and 2017. At the 2014 Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Wikipedia records Thailand winning cable team gold plus men's and women's cable wakeskate golds through Techin Nakajima and Tantanasorn Chaiyabood.

At the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, Sanya Phonthip and Patcharaporn Junnguluam won the men's and women's wakeboard golds after a team camp of about six months at Thai Wake Park in Lam Luk Ka. At the 2022 home Worlds, Thailand took one silver and three bronze, led by Peeranat's Open Men bronze. At The World Games 2025, Wikipedia lists Bhraebhim Pipatsawaddhi fifth in women's cable and Peeranat tenth in men's cable.

The big competitions, and how cable wakeboarding is judged

IWWF Cable World Championships

The official world title of the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF), covering wakeboard and wakeskate with age divisions from U14 and U18 through Open to masters. Recent editions: 2019 Buenos Aires, 2022 Thailand, 2024 Paris and 2026 Beijing. The 2024 event doubled as a qualifier for The World Games 2025.

The World Games

A multi-sport games for disciplines outside the Olympic programme. Cable wakeboarding returned at Chengdu 2025 for the first time since Duisburg 2005, with places earned through the world and continental championships.

WWA Wake Park World Championships

The pro-tour world title run by the World Wakeboard Association (WWA), separate from the IWWF system. Pro divisions are Park/Traditional, Features (called Urban in some years) and wakeskate; recent editions were on Australia's Gold Coast (2024) and in Florida (2025).

SEA Games & Asian championships

The regional stage where Thailand's team competes most often. At the 2025 SEA Games, hosted by Thailand, every towed-sports medal event was a mixed team event. The IWWF also runs Asian boat championships (Rabbit Lake, Bangkok, in 2025) and an Asia & Oceania cable championship.

How cable judging works

Broadly, a judging panel scores each run out of 100, weighing trick difficulty, execution and landings, variety, and how well the rider uses the course's kickers and rails. The highest score in the final wins. For the trick names you'll hear on the mic, see our wakeboard glossary.

Ride the same cables as the pros

Every venue with a big-event history is open to the public. ESC Thai Wake Park staged the 2022 Worlds and the SEA Games 2025 cable event; Thai Wake Park Lumlukka hosted the national team's camp before the 2019 SEA Games; Thai Wake Park Pattaya held cable wakeboard at Thailand Extreme Fest 2025; and Phuket Wake Park ran round two of the 2022 Thailand Championships. Planning a Bangkok session? Start with our Bangkok wakeboard guide.

Find parks near me

FAQ

Who are the current cable wakeboard world champions?

At the latest IWWF Cable Worlds in Beijing (August 2026), Germany's Max Milde won Open Men and Julia Rick won Open Women. At The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, the cable golds went to Loïc Deschaux (France) and Julia Rick.

Has Thailand hosted the wakeboard world championships?

Yes. ESC Thai Wake Park in Rangsit, Pathum Thani, hosted the Singha IWWF World Cable Wakeboard & Wakeskate Championships from late October to early November 2022, the first time Thailand staged the event.

What are the Thai national team's best results?

Thailand's top world-level cable result is Peeranat Faktongyu's Open Men bronze at the 2022 home Worlds. Regionally, the team won three golds at the 2025 SEA Games (the cable result as reported by Wikipedia), and Padiwat Jaemjan won three SEA Games men's wakeboard golds.

Where do pro riders train in Thailand?

Mostly at the Bangkok-area cables. According to their IWWF rider profiles, Julia Rick lists ESC Thai Wake Park as her home cable and Claudia Pagnini lists Thai Wake Park. Dominik Gührs spent his winters training in Bangkok, riding Thai Wake Park, and Julia Rick's results page lists a win at the 2015 WWA World Tour final stop in Phuket.

Is wakeboarding in the Olympics?

No. As of 2026 wakeboarding is not an Olympic sport. It is part of The World Games, where cable wakeboarding returned at Chengdu 2025 for the first time since 2005.

Sources & credits

Checked against official results and sports media. Details riders self-report on their IWWF profiles are labelled as such. Images on this page are AI illustrations, not photos of the athletes, out of respect for their image rights.