Team USA Wins Billabong ISA World Surfing
Games in Costa Rica for First Time in 13
Years
It was a fitting end to an event steeped in
a mix of camaraderie and tough competition
as Team USA took the overall gold medal
today over Team France at the Billabong ISA
World Surfing Games presented by Monster
Energy in Costa Rica.
It was the first time that the Americans
have won an overall gold medal in since the
1996 World Surfing Games in Huntington
Beach, California.
From the opening heats of the Games at Playa
Hermosa that began eight days ago, Team USA
appeared committed and focused, as they
competed against 34 other teams for a spot
on the podium. With the final day of
competition looming overhead, Team USA stood
firm and was able to place five or their
eight team members into the three finals,
hence becoming the team to beat.
The team was led by Ian Cairns who assumed
the position as Coach less than one month
ago. "We had good surfers and what we did
was to stay very concentrated," said a
low-key Cairns. "This is a long event and it
was very important to preserve your energy."
"I am really very happy" said Cairns of the
first American title in more than a decade.
"My goal was to come here and win. But also
I wanted to establish a different
personality for American surfing. I didn't
want to make a lot of noise until things
were happening. We built the support, the
calmness and we focused on being together
and concentrating on doing things well.
Later, at the final, we went to the beach to
wave the flag."
ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said about
the amazing Billabong ISA World Surfing
Games: "This was a great event. The new team
format (4 open men, 2 open women and 2
longboarders) proved to be the right
decision. The inaugural Billabong ISA World
Surfing Games will go down as a historical
moment for surfing, with record number of
competitors and national teams in
attendance. Congratulations to all the
nations and see you next year!"
Hot on the USA's heels was the French team,
led by ASP World Tour surfer Jeremy Flores.
He looked in stellar form throughout the
entire contest. France managed to put a one
athlete in each of the Open, Women's, and
Longboard divisions.
Kick-starting the final day of the contest
was the ISA Aloha Cup, run as a tag-team
event with five surfers from each team
taking turns competing in the hour-long
final. The unique format brought the
national pride and overall competitiveness
that had been simmering to a roaring boil.
Historically, one of the strongest teams in
the event and last year's overall event
winner, Team Australia, took the lead in the
Aloha Cup at the outset of the heat and
managed to hold on to it despite a strong
rally from the French Team. It was a
bittersweet moment for the Aussies as the
team was not able to secure the ISA Team
World Championship gold medal as it's done
many times in the past. The Aloha Cup was
the only gold medal for the Australians.
Following the Aloha Cup, the Longboard
finalists took to the tepid 4 to 5 foot
Costa Rican lineup and put on a tremendous
show. The final, that included an American,
a Frenchman, an Australian, and a British
surfer, brought the thousands of fans that
swarmed the beach to their feet, blending
old-world noserides and iconic style with
modern high-speed turns and speed floats. In
the end, France's Antoine Delpero came out
on top as he narrowly edged out Aussie
surfer Harley Ingleby with a two-wave
combined score of 15.50 points.
"I feel unreal?I'm so happy I can't say a
word," said a beaming and visibly shaken
Delpero following his win. "This is so cool
for me and Team France."
In the Women's final, 16-year-old American
Courtney Conlogue was surfing on a higher
plane as she dismantled her competition with
a determined backhand attack on the lefts
that earned her a slew of 8- and 7-point
rides along with a gold medal.
Heading into the Billabong ISA World Surfing
Games, Conlogue was coming off monumental
performances this year, including silver
medal at the ISA World Junior Championship
in Ecuador, and a victory at the US Open of
Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA. Judging
from her recent competitive dominance,
Conlogue has proven that she will be a
formidable figure in the sport for years to
come.
With her face partially shaded behind a pair
of aviator sunglasses, Conlogue remained
poised following her gold medal win. "To be
surfing in front of all these people is
amazing. It's been such a great event. To be
in the final I had to put it all on the
line," she said. "The conditions were really
good out there?it's just really been such a
fun journey so far."
Highlighting the final day's action was the
Open final. Comprised of two
Americans--Floridian Cory Lopez and North
Carolina native Ben Bourgeois--a Peruvian
and a Frenchmen, the level of surfing in the
Men's final showcased just how technically
advanced surfing has become throughout the
world.
Opening up the heat with a barrage of
mind-numbing turns was American Cory Lopez.
Throughout the Games, Lopez looked extremely
relaxed and confident--a dangerous mix in
the game of competitive surfing. Despite
Lopez's stellar rail work and progressive
turns, France's Jeremy Flores was the man to
beat. Surfing like a man possessed, Flores
seemed untouchable, putting his trademark
low center of gravity style and lightning
fast turns to good work in the final. That
surfing earned him a pair of 8-point rides
that the other competitors couldn't touch as
Flores went on to win the gold medal.
Following his win, Flores appeared proud and
confident as he reflected on the impact of
bringing home a gold medal. "I haven't won
too many contests, I've always done well,
but I hardly ever seem to win. For me this
is huge. This was more than a victory for
me. I never win anything?I can't believe I
just won. Wining the gold medal for my
country, is the best feeling I ever had in
my surfing career."
Then the Medals and Closing Ceremony took
place. The nations anthems were played
honoring the gold medalists with the crowd
applauding each one of them. The event was d
officially closed by ISA Vice-President,
Alan Atkins, who said: "The global surfing
family has come together again and has
tightened more than ever. I want to thank,
in the name of the ISA to all those who were
involved in the contest, the sponsors, the
local Federation and all the volunteers that
worked hard during this week. I am now
declaring officially closed the Billabong
ISA World Surfing Games."
Another edition of one of the biggest and
important surfing events in the world came
to an end. It will come again in 2010. The
next ISA event will be the Quiksilver ISA
World Junior Surfing Championship to be held
in New Zeland in January. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
