Kai Lenny & Annabel Anderson are crowned 2012 World Champions
Tuesday 16 October
Kai Lenny secures an impressive win at Turtle Bay and his first World Racing Title
Kai Lenny (Naish) put on a dominant performance over the weekend to secure his first Racing World Championship Title ahead of a field of international powerhouses. Coming into Pacifico’s Stand Up World Series Finals at Turtle Bay leading the overall rankings for the year, (wearing the yellow jersey as a result), Kai knew that he had to finish strong at home in Hawaii to ensure that the first racing Title would be his.
With a strong show on day one coming from behind to take the win in the long distance, it was still all on the line in the second day, with arch rival Connor Baxter right on his tail with a second in the long distance and lying second overall coming into the event.
Kai saved the best for last, as he secured the win in the sprints as well in what can only be described as one of the most specatcular showdowns in the sport’s history, with beautiful surf conditions matching the unparralleled arena that Turtle Bay provides. With a nail biting finish in the Finals, Kai edged ahead of Slater Trout, Casper Steinfath (Naish) and Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) to take the win and breathe out as he adds another World Title to his name as he proves himself to be without question the single biggest threat in the sport.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Kai humbly dedicated his Title to the memory of Harold Iggy, Naish’s long time shaper and a huge inspiration for Kai both on and off the water.
Connor Baxter puts up an impressive fight finishing in 2nd
The now familiar battle between Connor Baxter (Starboard) and Kai Lenny (Naish) once again raged at Turtle Bay, with Connor leading the long distance for much of the race, but having to settle for second behind Kai. Meanwhile, as number 2 seed, he was placed at the opposite end of the draw from Kai in the sprints, as he dominated all his heats on the road to the final.
However an unfortunate fall at a crucial stage of the race saw Connor fall back to 6th in the Sprints, which combined with his 2nd in the long distance still earned him 2nd overall for the event, and consequently, 2nd overall for the year.
Connor has put on some historic performances this year and the Connor / Kai rivalry has really only just begun, as Connor now sets his sights on the 2013 World Title.
Slater Trout excels in the sprints and secures 3rd overall
With a photo finish in the sprint racing between Slater Trout and Casper Steinfath (Naish) from Denmark, it turned out that Slater had done enough to secure his 3rd place in the overall 2012 rankings, despite a disappointing result for him in the long distance.
Tying for 6th overall for the event itself, Slater can be happy with his consistency in 2012, as he looks ahead to another great year in 2013.
Frenchman Eric Terrien finishes of the year in 4th place
After a string of great results through the season in 2012, Eric Terrien (Bic SUP) finished the year of well with a 6th place in the long distance and an 11th in the sprints, giving him a 6th= for the Finals itself and securing his 4th place position overall.
Suffering a board breakage in the warm up on the morning of the sprints, Eric had to borrow a board, still posting consistently good finishes through the rounds to make it work for his overall position. Eric has proved himself as the number one paddler in Europe and a real World Title Contender.
Zane Schweitzer makes his presence felt in racing world
After a string of impressive results through 2012, Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) finishes strong here at the Stand Up World Series Finals at Turtle Bay tying for 6th place overall for the event and securing 5th place in the overall rankings for the year.The last member of the photo finish in the finals of the sprint, Zane’s 13th place in the long distance was enough to secure his position. With just one point splitting 3 through 6 respectively in the overall, it was an exciting culmination for the year.
Having battled with illness for much of the year, to finish in 5th overall is a phenomenal achievement for Zane and proves that he is a real force to be reckoned with in both the surf and the racing.
Casper Steinfath further strengthens his position in SUP
For his first trip to Hawaii, the young Dane Casper Steinfath (Naish) has further strengthened his reputation as one of Europe’s very best Stand Up Paddlers with a phenomenal result here at the Stand Up World Series at Turtle Bay.
With a photo finish for the finals of the sprint racing with Slater Trout, combined with an impressive 7th place in the long distance, Casper secured 3rd place overall for the event and following his results in Sweden and France, 8th place overall for the year.
Casper has proved himself a real force to be reckoned with and a name to watch out for in both racing and surfing worlds. Watch out for more from this young prodigy leading the charge for Denmark.
Annabel Anderson is crowned 2012 Women World Champ
After another impressive performance from Annabel completing her flawless year on the World Series, Annabel notched up wins in both the long distance and sprints, providing her with the overall win for the event, and the World Racing Title.
Annabel has not lost one event in 2012 as she caps the year with another win and a World Title to boot. An impressive track record for any athlete, clearly providing a guiding light for women’s stand up paddling and making a pretty impressive statement in the process. A worthy Champion to say the least……
Olivia Piana from France secures second overall for year
Olivia Piana (Fanatic) from France secured 3rd place overall for the event and 2nd place overall for the year, with a win in France helping her cause and strengthening her position as one of the leading lights for Europe’s Stand up Paddling community.
Olivia finished 4th in the long distance, and following a tie-breaker that saw her victorious on Day 2, she finished in 3rd place in the sprints.
Young Halie Harrison secures 2nd in event, 3rd for year
With 3rd place finish in the long distance and a second place finish in the sprints, Halie Harrison closes a great year for her in the racing world putting her in 2nd overall for the event and 3rd overall for the year following a strong result out here earlier in 2012.
Coming from a family of surfers and paddlers, Halie is surrounded by the right people to make her presence felt and to have a bright career ahead of her.
Rachel Bruntsch once again is a force to be reckoned with
Rachel Bruntsch pushed Annabel all the way to the finish line in the long distance and then battled to the end in the sprints, failing to string together the results she needed to reach the podium, but certainly making her presence felt.
Here we see her riding a fine line with Annabel in one of the many spectacular moments from day 2 of Pacifico’s Stand Up World Series Finals at Turtle Bay, in association with Naish.
Mo Freitas wins the youth award for the 2012 World Series
With a string of impressive results in 2012, at just 15 years old, young Mo Freitas from Haleiwa has a great career ahead of him in both racing and surfing.
With a 13th place overall for the event, Mo shoots up to 12th overall and closes what has been a phenomenal year for the young athlete from Haleiwa.
Also, 14 year old Riggs Napoleon was on epic form here at Turtle Bay, with an incredible 9th place in the long distance and 12th in the sprints place him in 12th place for the event.
The Sport of Stand up Paddling has a great future ahead of it with kids like this coming up through the ranks.
Vanina Walsh earns the youth award for the women
Vanina Walsh has proved herself to be a force to be reckoned with already in both surfing and now racing, as she posted a great result here at the Stand Up World Series Finals at Turtle Bay Resort providing a taste of what is to come for this young athlete.
World Series Sprint racing provides a spectacular show
There is no doubt that the Sprint racing format for the Stand Up World Series provided a testament as to the excitement and spectator appeal of the format. With the unrivaled arena that Turtle Bay provides, coupled with the epic conditions that we were blessed with for the event, the Stand Up World Series Finals provided some of the most exciting racing ever witnessed, with dramatic surf rides and photo finishes in almost every heat. Stay tuned for the highlights that will go live later today at http://finals.standupworldseries.com
Final event results for the Stand Up World Series Finals
Men:
1st: Kai Lenny (HI) – Naish
2nd: Connor Baxter (HI) – Starboard
3rd: Casper Steinfath (DK) – Naish
4th: Jake Jensen (AUS) – Naish
5th: Noa Ginella (HI) – Naish
6th: Zane Schweitzer (HI) – Starboard / Eric Terrien (FR) – Bic SUP / Slater Trout (HI)
9th: Kody Kerbox (HI) – Naish
10th: Ryan Helm (MEX)
Women
1st: Annabel Anderson (NZ) – Starboard
2nd: Halie Harrison (HI)
3rd: Olivia Piana (FR) – Fanatic
4th: Rachel Bruntsch (HI)
Final overall Stand Up World Series Rankings for 2012
Men:
1st: Kai Lenny (HI) – Naish
2nd: Connor Baxter (HI) – Starboard
3rd: Slater Trout (HI)
4th: Eric Terrien (FR) – Bic SUP
5th: Zane Schweitzer (HI) – Starboard
6th: Jake Jensen (AUS) – Naish
7th: Ryan Helm (MEX)
8th: Casper Steinfath (DK) – Naish
9th: Kody Kerbox (HI) – Naish
10th: Noa Ginella (HI) – Naish
11th: Fernanado Stalla (MEX) – Rogue
12th: Mo Freitas (HI)
Women:
1st: Annabel Anderson (NZ) – Starboard
2nd: Olivia Piana (FR) – Fanatic
3rd: Halie Harrison (HI)
A Big thank you to all our event partners for the Finals
A big thank you goes out to all our partners of Pacifico’s Stand up World Series Finals at Turtle Bay and in association with Naish. The event proved to be nothing short of spectacular and a fitting close to a World Championship Season. We can’t wait until next year!
A big thank you also to the Waterman League’s official artist, Hilton Alves, who not only created the beautiful event artwork, but painted two paintings for the World Champion Man and Woman.
Stay tuned to finals.standupworldseries.com for highlights
Highlights from the long distance are already up online: Day One highlights and stay tuned for highlights from Day 2 that will be up later today, as well as special moments posted over the coming days from this spectacular event.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our World Series Patrons who support the Series and help to drive the development of the sport on an international level. Gold Patrons are Naish, Starboard, Rogue, Mistral, Coreban, JP Australia and Bic SUP, while silver patrons are Fanatic and Art in Surf: a big Mahalo to you all!
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