| Australia conquers the 2010 Panama ISA World Masters of Surfing |
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| Sunday, 05 September 2010 13:30 |
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Australia won the Team Gold Medal in the Panama ISA World Masters Surfing Championship in clean, well shaped 5 to 7 foot waves. Heather Clark (RSA), Andrew Banks (RSA), Juan Ashton (PUR), Rod Baldwin (AUS) and Chris Knutsen (RSA) won the Gold Medal in the individual divisions. The Aussie team’s title came after an intense and tight battle with South Africa. A mere difference of less than 300 points gave the first ISA Masters World Championship to the Aussies, stopping two years of African supremacy. Final Team Medal Standings: Sandra English, competitor and Team Manager of Australia, said about the victory, “It’s hard team work, everyone is cheering for each other and it all paid off with a couple of good results in the finals. Since it is a hard wave, it was really important to come here one week before.” It was a hard fought final with two red hot Australians and a defending World Champion, but South African Andrew Banks turned things to his favor in the last five minutes of the Masters (over 35) final. After scoring 9.07 on a set wave, he secured the Gold Medal with a combined score of 17.57. Brett Bannister (AUS) placed second, Dean Hall (AUS) third, and Juan Ashton (PUR) fourth. Banks said, “I feel extremely happy, this is the reason why I came here. This is what I was praying for, and I was not going to be happy with second place. It was a tough final and I gave it my all for my late brother, Robbie - I surf for him.” Ashton Wins Three out of Three The Puerto Rican waited patiently for a good wave and when it came he linked a set of strong moves worth 9.00 points to the judges. Ashton backed that up with an 8.40 to leave Glen Pringle (AUS) in second, Andre Malherbe (RSA) in third and Ricardo Villanueva (PUR) in fourth. “I am really happy because I always said that for me it was more important to win the Grand Masters because it is my new division. Obviously, I would have loved to win both but winning one is awesome. This is super special for me.” said Ashton. Baldwin Wins the Only Australian Individual Gold Baldwin, the Copper Medalist in the 2008 ISA World Masters, said, “(This) is fantastic, I didn’t expect this. I’m so grateful, I have been surfing for 35 years and this is the best result I have ever had. You just have to keep surfing, it keeps you young and I just love it!” Three Golds in a Row for Chris Knutsen Knutsen displayed smart wave selection and performed strong moves to post the only perfect 10-point ride of the event. He backed it up with an 8.5, leaving Javier Huarcaya (PER) in second, Kenneth Myers (PAN) in third, and Javier Gorbea (PUR) in fourth. “I came here trying to win a third ISA World Title as a hat trick, and I managed to pull it off,” said an emotional Knutsen. “I think God gave me the waves as it was amazing to get a 10. I caught the wave and it looked like it was going to be a good one. It was my chance, so I just rode it the best I could and luckily it worked out well for me. I am so happy, this happens because if you really love what you do, and I love surfing, you can only get better.” Back-to-Back Heather Clark Clark has won every heat she has entered in her two appearances in the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship. After being mobbed by her teammates on the shore, Clark commented, “It was hard because all the surfers in the final are really good and we all got waves over the 6.00 point range. I had support in the water, at the beach and I wanted really bad to get my second world title.” Closing Ceremony The winning nation’s anthems were played out loud and the ISA´s Surfing Camaraderie spirit was displayed in Santa Catalina as an amazing way to finish the event. The President of Panama showed great interest in Surfing, he said to all the visiting surfers, “Tell everybody about the perfect waves we have and come here, you are more than welcome.” He also made sure to have the ISA President commit to bringing another international event to Panama in the summer of 2011. Shamah said, “We are very happy and surprised with the results of this tournament. Governments do not usually get involved in the surfing arena. We decided to do it because we think the waves will attract tourists and wealth, and that has been the result of this competition.” As for Fernando Aguerre, he said, “I want to thank the Panamanian people, the government and the private sector for their commitment with this sport. This is the most exciting part of the event, the medals ceremony, but it is also the part when we remember everything, the rainy days, the wind, the great waves, the broken boards, and the emotions. We want to let all the Panamanians know that we leave your country with our hearts filled with great memories.” Medalists Grand Masters Kahunas Grand Kahunas Women Masters Final Team Standings:
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