| Chris Friend wins the Mick Fanning Red Bull Junior Surf Masters |
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| Sunday, 11 July 2010 12:15 |
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Chris Friend (Alex Headland, Qld) today won the prestigious Mick Fanning Red Bull Junior Surf Masters held at Broadbeach (Gold Coast, Australia). In excellent, one-metre conditions, Friend outpointed youngster Matt Banting (Port Macquarie, NSW), in a thrilling final which was decided by the smallest of margins. In a seesawing final, Friend posted a combined two-wave heat total of 14.60 (out of a possible 20) to Banting’s 14.50 clinching the win by only 0.10 of a point. One of 12 Mick Fanning hand picked wildcards, Friend was in blistering form throughout the entire with the elated Sunshine Coaster ecstatic with his historic win. “I finished second in the Hurley Burleigh Pro Junior at the beginning on the year and missed out on $25,000 at that event, so this is definitely a nice reward,” said Friend. “To surf in front of two-time world champion Mick Fanning was a massive thrill and competing against Australia’s best junior surfers always pushes you to want to do well,” he said. Friend was one of only a handful of the country’s top junior surfers selected by Mick Fanning to compete in the event, which is a specialty, invitational competition. For his efforts today, Friend walked away with a whopping $AUS 10,000 – one of the biggest cheques in professional junior surfing. Meanwhile, Matt Banting once again solidified himself as a future surfing champion with the 16-year-old giving away up to four years age difference to some of his rivals. Banting will undoubtably be making massive inroads into the Pro Junior series in years to come. There was also plenty of action outside the surf, there live music from Brisbane indie sensation Yves Klein Blue sending the crowd abuzz. Stoked to give something back to the groms, Mick Fanning will be attended the Finals to today to show his support and also check out who the next big name in surfing will be!
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