Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) was crowned the PWA Youth Slalom World Champion in 2012, but hasn’t hit the dizzy heights he dreams of yet, but he’s not giving up. The Pole qualified for the winners’ final in South Korea only to see the final unable to be complete and in Japan and Costa Brava the 25-year-old had to settle for a 17th and 28th respectively - which sees him currently ranked 21st in the world.

Maciek Rutkowski makes a statement of intent: “They will say you're not good enough. They will say you reached your ceiling. They will say you don't have enough talent. Or that you don't have that winning mentality. Basically they will say or at least think that you're never gonna make it.  

Your only weapon against them is confidence. 

I made the huge mistake of doubting myself. I will do that no more. You wanna know why? It might not show today or tomorrow, it might not show the next contest or the whole season. It might not even show the next. But the work put in will always pay off. And if I need to work another 5 years to get there, so be it. But I will not stop chasing my dream.”

You can next see Maciek Rutkowski - and the whole of the men’s slalom fleet - in action at the Fuerteventura PWA World Cup which takes place between the 26th-30th July.