Connor Baxter & Annabel Anderson secure victory at the AC Open in San Francisco
Monday 2 September
Connor Baxter and Kai Lenny battle it out to the bitter end
Connor Baxter (Starboard) and Kai Lenny (Naish) once again have a historic clash here at the AC Open in San Francisco, as Kai Lenny secures the win in the sprint racing component, forcing a dramtic tie-breaker to decide the event win, much to the delight of the crowd.
The athletes agreed on a simple course with one buoy turn, giving them an upwind and downwind leg to decide the event Title – a coin toss decided the buoy turn direction and within minutes, they were off.
Neck and neck up until the buoy turn, it was anyone’s game, but coming into the buoy Connor just edged ahead and maintained the lead to power through to a well deserved victory here at Stop 7 on the 2013 Stand Up World Series, and providing a dramatic climax to an intense day of action here at the AC Open in San Francisco.
Watch the highlights on the video scroll down on the home page at:
Kai Lenny wins the sprints for another dramatic finish
Kai Lenny (Naish) put on impressive performance throughout the heats today, powering his way through to the Finals amidst World Class competition. In the Final heat, a great start saw him break away from the pack, as arch rival Connor Baxter (Starboard) got caught up in the cluster of paddlers battling right behind him. This allowed Kai to break away and paddle in clean water, maintaining his lead to the finish to take the win in the dramatic sprint racing here in San Francisco.
Having put every shred of energy into the Final, Kai then faced up against Connor one last time for the tie-breaker and had to settle for 2nd in the event, but both athletes sharing the points here towards the overall World Title.
Annabel Anderson makes it a clean sweep at the AC Open
Annabel Anderson (Starboard) impressed the world on Day 1 here in San Francisco by leading the entire fleet through the hardest leg of the Long distance course, going into wind up to the Golden Gate Bridge and not only winning the Women’s but finishing in 5th place in the men’s division – an incredible achievement given the caliber of the athletes here at the AC Open.
However, a new day presented new challenges as the sprint racing got underway, and in the first race, Annabel and Jenny Kalmbach (Naish) get caught up round the first buoy, allowing Jenny to break away, and maintain the lead to take race one of three for the Women’s Division.
Race 2 saw Annabel take the win, and then in Race 3, another buoy pile up on buoy 2 saw Halie Harrison (Focus SUP) break away to take the lead. However, Annabel and Jenny both recover fast to catch up by the 3rd buoy and take the lead by the 4th. In the end, Annabel once again proves victorious, taking the win in both the long distance and sprint racing to make it a clean sweep once again here at Stop 7 of the 2013 Stand Up World Series.
Make sure to check out the highlights, galleries, recap and full results at:
Jenny Kalmbach is first to beat Annabel in any race
Jenny Kalmbach (Naish) proves herself to be a real threat here on the Stand Up World Series, putting serious pressure on the seemingly unbeatable Annabel Anderson (Starboard) to take one out of three races in the World Series Sprints here in San Francisco. In the other 2, it was a battle to the finish, as the two went blow for blow in their quest for victory at this prestigious stop on the 2013 Stand Up World Series.
With a 2nd in the Sprint racing coupled with her 2nd place in the long distance, this solidified Jenny’s second place overall for the event, but perhaps more importantly for Jenny, she proved that she has what it takes to take the victory and will clearly be a name to watch out for here in the Stand Up World Series moving forward.
The battle for 3rd thru 6th saw elite athletes battle it out
The next battle was for 3rd through 6th, as a selection of the World’s leading athletes were battling for vital positioning here in San Francisco and for the glory in front of this prestigious America’s Cup Setting: Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove), Zane Schweitzer (Starboard), Eric Terrien (Bic SUP) and Kody Kerbox (Naish) were all in position for a strong finish as they made it through to the finals of the sprint racing, as the scene was set for an epic battle between these elite athletes.
In the end, Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) proved to be a man on a mission, powering off the start and maintaining positioning to earn him a well deserved 3rd place in the sprint racing, which combined with his 4th place in the Long distance propels him to 3rd overall for this prestigious stop on the 2013 Stand Up World Series – a great performance from the young talent from Maui.
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Mo Freitas proves that he is already a major double threat
Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) once again proved himself to be a major threat in the global scene, posting another phenomenal result here at Stop 7 of the 2013 Stand UP World Series against the World’s very best.
After his mind blowing performances on the World Surfing Tour with a win in Brazil in 2012 and Podium finish in 2013, Mo has gone onto show that he is equally as dangerous on the Race Course, with a 3rd place finish here in the long distance and a 5th place finish in the Sprints putting him in 4th place overall for this AC Open in San Francisco. An impressive performance from this young talent from the North Shore of Oahu.
Kody Kerbox steps up to be counted here in San Francisco
Kody Kerbox (Naish) once again puts on a great performance here in San Francisco, with a 5th place finish in the long distance and powering ahead of Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) on the last buoy turn in the sprint finals to take 4th place, earning him a well deserved 5th place overall for the event.
Another great result for this young athlete who has clearly only just begun to show what he is capable of. Starting the year with a 3rd place finish on the Surfing World Tour at Sunset, Kody has gone from strength to strength this year and shown that he is far from one dimensional, with strong finishes in both surfing and racing, so as a double threat, he is clearly someone to watch out for.
For highlights, photos, full results and much more, please go to:
Eric Terrien proudly represents France in San Francisco
Eric Terrien (Bic SUP) proudly represents France here at the AC Open in San Francisco with strong performances in both long distance and spring racing. Finishing in 6th place in the Long distance and then rounding up the final 6 in the finals of the Sprint racing, Eric once again proved that he is a force to be reckoned with on the Stand Up World Series and is always a threat here on the global stage.
With strong results throughout this year Eric is poised for a good finish on the Stand up World Series as we come to the closing stages of the 2013 Season. Check back for the updated rankings at:
Jen Lee puts on a solid performance at Stop 7 of the Series
Jen Lee puts on a solid performance in both the Women’s Sprints and long distance to claim a well deserved 3rd place overall here in San Francisco. With a 3rd place in the long distance and a 4th place in the sprint racing, Jen proved that she could very much hold her own here on the Stand up World Series, as she puts on an impressive performance in front of the America’s Cup crowd.
As we look ahead to Huntington and then the prestigious Finals at Turtle Bay on Oahu’s fabled North Shore, Jen will be looking for a strong finish in this dramatic 2013 season.
Halie Harrison puts on an impressive performance in SF
Halie Harrison (Focus SUP) put on a performance way beyond her years here at the AC Open this weekend, with a strong finish in the long distance that saw her in 3rd place, only to be thwarted by taking one of the Red Bull Marks the wrong way disqualifying her 3rd place result.
However, in the sprints, she had redemption, with a solid 3rd place finish behind Annabel and Jenny, having led the finals at one point following the buoy drama, showing grace under pressure and making a statement as to her real potential here on the Stand Up World Series: definitely a name to watch out for.
Make sure to check out the highlights, photos, results and much more at:
Thank you to our AC Open partners here in San Francisco
A big thank you to Starboard, Puma, 101 Surf Sports, the Punta Sayulita Resort Community and of course the America’s Cup for supporting us in the staging of this historic event at one of Sailing’s most prestigious events.
With an unsurpassed backdrop for this major sporting event, Stand Up Paddling took center stage and the world’s best stepped up to put on a memorable performance for the assembled crowds.
With fanatical paddlers in the form of Oracle’s Captain Jimmy Spithill and crew member Shannon Falcone joining the fray, the Stand Up World Series and the sport of Stand Up Paddling was able to receive the attention it deserves and make history here in San Francisco.
Congratulations to all our athletes and we look forward to seeing them all in just over 2 weeks at Stop 8 of the Racing World Series and Stop 3 of the Surfing World Tour. Stay tuned for updates, news, build up and both photo and video highlights at:
A big thank you to our Stand Up World Series Patrons
A big thank you also to our Stand up World Series Patrons: Starboard, Naish, Mistral, Fanatic, JP Australia, Bic SUP, Rogue SUP, IOSUP, Art in Surf, Coreban, Puka Patch, Body Glove, but also our Silver Patrons Focus SUP and SUP the Mag.
A big thank you also to our long term patner and HQ for the Waterman League, Turtle Bay Resort. Enter for your chance to win a stay at this piece of paradise on Oahu’s Fabled North Shore at
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