Izzy Gomez takes the win at the Abu Dhabi All Stars amid fierce competition
Izzi Gomez comes from behind to take victory at the Abu Dhabi All Stars
Coming off an impressive win at the last stop of the Stand Up World Tour in Brazil, Izzy Gomez (Starboard) started slower at the open of the 2014 Abu Dhabi All Stars, but soon found her stride and gained momentum through the rounds to take victory at stop #3 on the 2014 Stand Up World Tour. With an incredible winning record (2 out of 3 this year and 4 out of 7 since the beginning of 2013), Izzi is proving herself to be a dominant force in the sport of Stand Up Paddling and a true Champion.
Izzi Gomez comes from behind in the Final against the on form Iballa Moreno
Izzi Gomez’ road to the Finals was exciting, as a slow start saw her build momentum through the rounds, to overpower the new talent on Tour and 3rd place finisher in Hawaii, Sophia Bartlow and then the on form Aline Adisaka (New Advance) from Brazil.
In the Final, she seemed up against the ropes with Iballa Moreno (Starboard) opening strong with a couple of high scoring lefts. However through the rights and closeouts, Izzi was able to post scores in the excellent range, taking her to victory in this prestigious Abu Dhabi All Stars.
An incredible performance by this young Champion, as she continues to strengthen her position on the World Championship Tour and as one of the very best Stand Up Paddlesurfers in the World.
Iballa Moreno puts together a solid event campaign, narrowly missing out on win
Iballa Moreno (Starboard) has shown flashes of brilliance over the past year on the Stand Up World Tour, with displays of radical performance surfing in a wide variety of conditions. Unfortunately, she hasn’t until now been able to piece these moments together for a strong heat performance, meaning that she has often been knocked out earlier than perhaps her talent would indicate.
However this changed at the Abu Dhabi All Stars, as Iballa Moreno (Starboard) turned it on and powered her way through the rounds to the final, taking down current Ratings leader and 2013 World Champion Nicole Pacelli from Brazil in the process.
Despite just falling short in the final against Izzi Gomez (Starboard), Iballa can return home proud of the fact that she has turned a corner with her competitive surfing and has shown she is capable of taking down the very best in the world and is now lying in 4th place overall: clearly a name to watch out for through the 2014 season.
Nicole Pacelli goes down in the Semi Finals, but not without a fight
Nicole Pacelli puts on an impressive performance at the ABu Dhabi All Stars Grand Slam, notching up the highest heat score total in Round #1, then blazing her way through the quarterfinals to the semis, where she was finally stopped by the on form Iballa Moreno (Starboard) from Spain.
Even though Nicole would have wanted a win here in Abu Dhabi, she has to be happy with 3rd place finish, to complement her 1st and 2nd in Hawaii and Brazil respectively. She is now tied for 1st overall in the rankings with Izzi Gomez (Starboard), so it will be interesting to see how the final 2 events of the year will play out.
Aline Adisaka excels and moves up to 3rd overall in the ranking with a 3rd here
Aline Adisaka (New Advance) has been continuously improving over the past few years and is now seen as one of the leading talents on Tour. She reaffirmed this with another strong finish here at the Abu Dhabi All Stars Grand Slam.
Taking out the ever powerful Candice Appleby in the quarterfinals, Aline went onto meet her great friend and eventual event winner Izzi Gomez (Starboard) in the semis, and while she wasn’t able to make the finals, she put up a good fight and it was a closely fought battle.
Aline is certainly a talent to look out for on the Stand Up World Tour as we pass the mid point of the year and look towards potential World Title scenarios.
Other Standouts at the 2014 Abu Dhabi All Stars Grand Slam
As the level of women’s surfing on the Stand Up World Tour continues to go from strength to strength, our international talent pool continues to grow as the women are stepping up to be counted.
In this event, we saw the welcomed return of Olivia Piana (Fanatic) and Caroline Angibaud from France, but also Candice Appleby and Sophia Bartlow. As the competition intensifies, the level of women’s surfing is getting supercharged as this dynamic competitive platform continues to drive the performance level forward.
Stay tuned to www.watermanleague.com
A wrap for stop #3 of the Stand Up World Tour & Open for the Stand Up World Series
So that is a wrap for Stop #3 on the 2014 Stand up World Tour, as we celebrate an epic showdown out here in the desert of Al Ain, where history was once again made at Wadi Adventure for the Abu Dhabi All Stars Grand Slam: this year as the first Official International World Championship event was brought to the UAE for a spectacle like no other.
However, the All Stars is not over yet, as the World’s best racers will be congregating in Yas Marina tomorrow for Stop #2 on the 2014 Stand Up World Series. Make sure to join us LIVE tomorrow from 3pm UAE time at www.watermanleague.com. Day 1 will be the long distance and Day 2, the World Series Sprints, with the morning of Day 2 hosting a 3km open course and youth activities througout – all in all something for everyone.
In the meantime make sure to stay tuned for highlights, recap, galleries and much more at www.watermanleague.com
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