| Dean Hanmer wins the Xcel Open Ocean Paddleboard Race |
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| Sunday, 13 June 2010 12:09 |
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Earlymornings, countless kilometres and hours of gruelling training paid dividends for Dean Hanmer today, as the Broadbeach bolter proved he’s a cut above his paddleboard peers, winning the 8.5 kilometere Xcel Open Ocean Paddleboard Race from Snapper Rocks to Currumbin Estuary. Winning the blue ribbon Unlimited Open Men division, in a time of 59 minutes and thirteen seconds, the paddleboard powerhouse smashed his nearest opponents by more than 6 minutes finishing ahead of Bondi Rescue star Corey Oliver (1hr 5min 23sec) and Scott Wildin (Burleigh Heads, Qld – 1hr 8min 2sec) who finished second and third respectively. “This was my fourth time competing in this event and the number of competitors and standard of competition seems to get better every year, so to get the win today is unreal,” said Hanmer. “A majority of the guys and girls competing here today will head overseas shortly for some really big races, so this is a great test to gauge exactly where your fitness is at before tackling those bigger races,” he said. Hanmer will now travel to Hawaii for series of international races including July’s annual Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard race, which is regarded as the World Championship of paddleboard racing. It was also clear sailing for Gold Coast lifeguard and Stand Up Paddleboard extraordinaire James Watson (Burleigh Heads, Qld), who raced to victory in the Unlimited Open Men SUP division, finishing the race in a super fast time of 59 minutes and 52 seconds. Shooting to an early lead, Watson widened his gap on the field as the small waves and tail winds meant every competitor was being tested the entire length of the race course. By race end, Watson finished over two minutes clear of Kelly Margetts (Tugun, Qld -1hr 2min 5sec) and Woogie Marsh (Perigian Beach, Qld – 1hr 2min 12sec) who finished second and third respectively. Alison Fullagar (Palm Beach, Qld) lead the female contingent across the finish line today, finishing atop of the Unlimited Open Women Stand Up Paddle division and toppling many of her male counterparts in the great time of 1hr 13mins 30secs. A record field of 123 competitors started the day’s race and including Hanmer, Watson and Fullagar a total of 18 divisional champions were crowned today.
Unlimited Open Men: Dean Hanmer (Broadbeach, Qld) Time 0:59:13
Post Race, competitors socialized, rehydrated and refuelled their bodies over a BBQ and a few beers thanks to XXXX Sumer Bright Lager - highlighting the camaraderie amongst the tight knit Paddleboarding community. Well-liked Gold Coast lifeguard Michael Chan was a popular winner of the Hawaiian Airlines randomly drawn prize of two return tickets to Hawaii. Across the 18 divisions competitors certainly didn’t walk away empty handed either, with over $10,000 in prize packs given away thanks to Xcel Wetsuits & UV Performance Gear, Hawaiian Airlines, Dakine, paddleshop.com.au, Kirra Surf, SolrX Sunscreen and Honolua Clothing.
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