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South African Pride Soars with the Best Trick in Open Shortboard and Win Over USA in Longboard
Brazil Posts First Perfect 10 of the Competition in Men’s Bodyboard
DAY SIX RESULTS: THE 2006 LOST ENERGY DRINK ISA WORLD SURFING GAMES
Huntington Beach, Calif., October 20, 2006 –The heat was on in Day Six of the Lost Energy Drink ISA World Surfing Games and all competitors aggressively surfed for a perfect score. Temperatures were in the mid 80’s with shoulder high waves with the occasional overhead set pulling in. The competition was fierce as the imminent elimination forced teams to really punctuate their performance .
The morning was filled with paddle battles and a string of maneuvers in all divisions. Dark horses, team Costa Rica swept through the Repercharge the heats with Luis Vindas and Gilbert Brown both taking first.
It was a battle to the finish in all eight of the Open Men’s Repercharge heats but the most fiery battle was between USA team’s CJ Hobgood, ranked seven in the ASP, and 2003 ISA World Junior Champion Jordy Smith of South Africa. Both competitors fought for first position and responded to each wave that was ridden by their opponent. Each wave they secured posted higher scores amidst the dual but. in the end, Smith clenched the win from Hobgood in the last minute. Smith’s remarkable week of surfing culminated in the moment when he nailed a double-grab superman earning him 9.77.
“Jordy has so much talent and I knew I had to step it up when I found out he was in my heat. I watched his right air reverse that earned him an 8.5 and I knew I had to get to the next level. He must’ve felt the pressure because the very next wave, he answered right back with that crazy air and ended it with the bang in the last minute. I was clapping from the shore,” said Hobgood.
Both Smith and Hobgood posted the first and second single and combined wave scores of the day for the Shortboard division with a 17.77 and 15.27 respectively.
The crowd exploded on the beach in Heat 3 of Repercharge 6 as Diego Cadena of Mexico managed to grab the second spot after Kaui, Hawaii surfer Sebastian Zietz with a 7.27 narrowly edging out Blake Thomton of Australia..
In Heat 1, Matthew Moir sent three time Longboard World Champion Colin McPhillips into the Repercharge round when he earned both the highest single wave score and the highest combined score of 8.50 and a 16.60. Also advancing forward is Benjamin Skinner of Great Britain and Bonga Perkins of Hawaii whose abilities to combine short board skills with classic longboard fluidity proved successful.
“The waves were the best I’ve ever seen in Huntington Beach. I had to mix noseriding with modern maneuvers. I’ve known Colin for some time now and I’ve surf with these guys for years. I finally got him!” said Moir of his win over McPhillips.
Michel Demont of Tahiti impressed judges and clinched the first place slot with just three waves in his heat. On his final wave, Demont took off straight to the nose of the board for a stellar ride securing him with a 11.43 combined score.
The Bodyboarding division also showcased some thrilling rides, when Uri Valadoa of Brazil posted the first perfect 10 of the contest in the Men’s Bodyboard Qualifying 4 competition. Valadoa shot out of a left barrel and performed a huge ARS off the top of the lip leaving the judges in awe. His second wave score was a 9.5 when he once again squeezed out of closeout barrel for a incredible 19.5 combined.
A very humble Valadoa said, “My teammates had to tell me which wave was the 10 because I didn’t even know. I was lucky today because I didn’t do anything wrong when the waves came to me. The set took a long time to come but I was lucky to get the best wave and did everything wave asked me to do.”
Amaury Lavernhe of France and Alvaro of Spain pushed through to the final Repercharge round after both capitalized on a barreling set that came through late in the afternoon.
The ladies also excelled in the Bodyboarding Qualifier 3 with Moe Watanabe one of the strongest riders from Japan posted an astonishing 18.33, the contest’s second highest score.
The Repercharge Round Four saw an equal amount of action with Rita Pires of Portugal, Kira Llewellyn of Australia and Marina Taylor of Spain in a neck-to-neck battle. In the last 20 seconds of the heat, an interference was called on Pires who was tied for first place with Llewellyn pushing her to third position.
It was Kira Llewellyn of Australia who took first over Tara Parsons of the USA in the Repercharge with a combined score of 17.33. Llewellyn posted the highest single wave score of 9.00 when she performed a spin in the barrel pocket followed by a barrel roll, taking the first position slot from Parsons.
“I haven’t competed since end of august because I’ve been injured and barely surfed before the Games, but the conditions are nice and this south swell makes some great peaks” said Llewellyn.
As another sun filled day closed, competitors wound down in preparation for the semi finals tomorrow. Australia sits in first place, with Brazil in second and USA holding on strongly in third position. Nearly half of the original 33 teams will compete tomorrow in hopes of making it to the coveted finals and the IOC trophy.
Competition will move to a single Podium tomorrow beginning at 7:00 a.m with Mens Open, Womens Open, and Longboard. Be sure to catch the Semifinal tag team beginning at 12:40 p.m. Check out the action with live scoring and a live webcast available daily at www.isasurf.org or www.Surfing America.org/isa. Additionally, photos are available for viewing and free downloading at http://www.isasurf.org/gallery/main.php
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