Kai Lenny wins the Overall World Series Title at Huntington Beach
Tuesday 24 September
Kai Lenny makes it two out of two wins in Surf City USA
After winning both the Surfing World Tour event and the World Series Sprints of the Huntington Beach Pro Grand Slam, Kai Lenny (Naish) once again turned it on to take second place behind Australia’s Jake Jensen in the long distance, giving him the well deserved overall title for the event.
In the long distance, Kai led off the start, and then once again went head to head with Connor Baxter (Starboard) through the first half of the course. Things started to get switched up on the leg through the surf, as Connor got the edge on the first lap, Kai on the second, but then the Top 6 bunched up and battled for the lead throughout the remaining laps of the course to make it one of the most exciting, fiercely competitive and dramatic races yet on the Stand Up World Series.
Kai ended up getting caught up around that second to last buoy, but powered back to take an impressive 2nd place in the long distance, making it a strong win overall for the young Champion from Maui, and a double victory for the Grand Slam event for both World Tour Surf and World Series Racing.
Kai is lying in a close second to Connor Baxter coming into the Finals at Turtle Bay, so it will all come down to the wire as the World Championship crown for 2013 is decided.
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Jake Jensen secures the win in long distance & 2nd overall
Jake Jensen (Fanatic) from Australia storms to victory in what was an epic long distance race yesterday just south of the pier at Huntington Beach.
In an intensely fought out battle between the Top 6, where the lead changed so many times during the 5 lap course, Jake found himself ahead as the others stumbled on the second to last buoy and took the opportunity to make a break and shoot out into the lead, a lead he was able to hold until the finish line to take the win on Day 2 of the Stand Up World Series in Surf City USA.
An incredible performance by the young Australian and combined with his 4th place finish in the sprints, this result puts him in 4th place overall for the event and 6th overall in the World Series overall rankings leading into the Final event at Turtle Bay.
Watch the highlights, view the galleries and read the latest at:
WWW.WATERMANLEAGUE.COM
Casper Steinfath continues to make his presence felt
Another impressive performance from the Viking from Denmark, Casper Steinfath (Naish), as he battles through the stacked long distance race to finish in 3rd place, which combine with his 4th in the Sprints gives him another 3rd place overall for the event. As winner of the European Trilogy (France, Spain, Germany), Casper has been one of the most consistent athletes this year on the Series, posting Top 5 finishes at every single event he has entered.
After a great performance at last year’s Turtle Bay Finals, make sure to watch out for the ‘Great Dane’ as he heads back out to Oahu’s fabled North Shore for the climactic close to the 2013 season at Turtle Bay. Casper is now lying in 3rd place overall in the World Series Ratings coming into Turtle Bay.
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Mo Freitas excels at Huntington Beach to finish 4th overall
After an impressive 3rd equal finish in the World Tour Surfing component of the Huntington Beach Pro Grand Slam, the young Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) continues his roll to finish in 5th place in both the sprints and the long distance, battling for the top spot across both races to finish in an equally impressive 4th place overall for the World Series Racing.
At just 16 years old, Mo also won the ‘Na Kama Kai’ youth event (U16) in the morning of the Long Distance, demonstrating not only his all around performance and ability, but also his stamina, as both races in this world series were not for the faint hearted! Mo’s potential across both Surfing and Racing is unquestionable, and his position as a key contender in both disciplines moving forward, assured. Mo now lies in 5th place overall coming into Turtle Bay.
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Kody Kerbox continues his phenomenal roll of 2013 results
Kody Kerbox (Naish), fresh off his 5th place finish in the World Tour Surfing event at Huntington Beach, went on to put on a stellar performance in the racing division, finishing in 5th place overall.
Despite not making the Finals of the sprint racing, his 4th place in the long distance propelled him up to 5th overall, continuing his consistent run of results for the 2013 season across both Surfing and Racing.
Kody is now sitting in 7th place overall in the World Series Racing and in 3rd place overall in the World Tour Surfing showing himself to be another incredible all-rounder.
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Halie Harrrison reigns supreme in the long distance race
The young Halie Harrison (Focus SUP) proved that she is a force to be reckoned with in the challenging course that was the long distance race of the Huntington Beach Pro World Series, as she secured a well deserved win in Surf City USA.
Finishing well up the fleet, Halie proved that she has what it takes to take on the World’s best, and this combined with her 2nd place overall for the World Series Sprint Racing puts her in equal 1st place overall for the World Series event.
After a disappointing (for her) performance in the World Tour Surfing, this strong finish in the racing will be a great confidence booster for Halie: a great performance from this young talent from Oahu, as we expect great things from her coming into the World Series Final at Turtle Bay next month.
Ke’ale Dorries, the revelation of the Huntington Beach Pro
Ke’ale Dorries not only put on a great performance in the World Tour Surf event, finishing in 5th place and only going down to Candice Appleby, but powered through the sprint course to take victory on the 1st day of this World Series event, and made it through the long distance to finish in 2nd place.
These two impressive results have her tied for 1st place overall in the Huntington Beach Pro Grand Slam – an incredible performance from this young talent from down under. We look forward to seeing her at the next event in Turtle Bay and increasingly through 2014.
Her father also deserves a mention, having made the final of the World Series Sprint Racing against the young field of exceptional talent – a mind blowing performance from Peter Dorries that had the crowds on their feet.
For all highlights, recaps, galleries and much more, make sure to go to:
Caroline Angibaud excels in the World Series Sprints
After an impressive 3rd place finish in the World Tour Surfing event, narrowly missing out on advancing through to the Finals, Caroline then went onto post another 3rd place overall in Racing, with a 3rd in both sprints and long distance making her without doubt the most consistent female athlete at the Huntington Beach Pro Grand Slam.
Posting some of the highest scores in the surfing event and proving that she is right up there in the Racing, Caroline is a double threat and will be looking to reassert her position as such at the next stop on the 2013 Stand Up World Tour at home in La Torche in France.
Go to: WWW.WATERMANLEAGUE.COM
Recognition of the leading Overall Grand Slam athletes
Although we don’t have an Official overall World Title as yet for the World Tour Surfing and World Series Racing combined, we feel it necessary to recognize the phenomenal achievements of our leading athletes across both the Tour and the Series, as they make history in the sport of Stand Up Paddling and take the performance to a whole new level.
Here are the Top 10 male athletes and Top 3 female athletes overall from this Huntington Beach Pro Grand Slam, calculated from their World Tour Surf & Race results. A big congratulations goes out to all our athletes who took part in this epic and action packed Grand Slam event.
MEN’S OVERALL GRAND SLAM RESULTS
- Kai Lenny (Naish) – Hawaii
- Mo Freitas (Focus SUP/Body Glove) – Hawaii
- Kody Kerbox (Naish) – Hawaii
- Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) – Hawaii
- Daniel Hughes – US
- Josh Riccio – US
- Riggs Napoleon (Naish) – Hawaii
- Noa Ginella (Naish) – Hawaii
- Fernando Stalla (Rogue) – Mexico
- Toby Cracknell (Naish) – Australia
WOMEN’S OVERALL GRAND SLAM RESULTS
- Caroline Angibaud – France
- Vanina Walsh (Starboard) – Hawaii
- Halie Harrison (Focus SUP) – Hawaii
For full results, recaps and highlights, go to:
Thank you to all our Sponsors & Patrons of Tour & Series
So that wraps an incredible Grand Slam event at Huntington Beach. A big thank you to the City of Huntington Beach for welcoming us so wholeheartedly back to Surf City USA – it was an honor to be back there and we look forward to a long future here at Surf City USA that has provided us with a stunning arena for high performance Stand Up Paddling over the past week.
A big thank you also to Starboard, GoPro, Pacifico, Dukes and the Shorebreak hotel in Huntington Beach, but also to Turtle bay Resort fo their continued support of the World Tour and Series and HQ for the Waterman League, not to mention our valued patrons for their ongoing support of this dynamic professional platform for the sport.
We look forward to seeing you all at the climactic World Series Final from the 11th – 13th October at Turtle Bay, on Oahu’s fabled North Shore.
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