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<\/p>\nAustralia Runs Away With Team Title, Winning Three More Individual Gold Medals on Final Day of the ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With a dominating overall showing in all disciplines at the inaugural ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship, Australia won Team Gold and the perpetual Club Waikiki Trophy, which is being held by Team Captain Jamie Mitchell. Pictured with ISA President Fernando Aguerre (blue jacket) and Club Waikiki President Jos\u00e9 Osterling (white shirt). Photo: Photo: ISA\/Michael Tweddle<\/p>\n
Brad Gaul and Jordan Mercer Each Win Three Golds for the Event, While Jamie Mitchell Gets Some Redemption; Brandi Baksic Sweeps Women\u2019s SUP Races<\/p>\n
ISA World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship
\n February 25, 2012
\n Miraflores, Lima, Peru<\/p>\n
Some might call it a victory lap, but for Jamie Mitchell, that last wave into the shore \u2013 well beyond the next closest racing competitor in the 18-kilometer SUP Marathon course \u2013 was as much a relief on his body as it was on his racing reputation and his soul.\u201cI wanted to redeem myself from yesterday because I made a few silly mistakes,\u201d said Mitchell, in regard to losing a Gold Medal because he didn\u2019t properly complete the Men\u2019s SUP Technical Race. \u201cBut I also needed it personally. I had probably one of the hardest five weeks of my life the last five weeks, a lot of heavy stuff is going down. I needed it, I needed it; so I\u2019m glad I got it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitchell\u2019s Gold Medal-winning performance in the Men\u2019s SUP Marathon division was the beginning of a parade of medals won by Australia on the final day of the historic ISA World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship. Just behind Mitchell came teammate Travis Grant, and shortly behind him, another teammate, Brad Gaul, the winner of the Men\u2019s Paddleboard Marathon. The win was Gaul\u2019s third of the event. Gaul was followed by Joel Mason, who also won the Silver Medal behind Gaul in the shorter paddleboard race three days prior.<\/p>\n
Australian Jordan Mercer again proved herself to be among the elite paddleboard racers in the world, winning the Women\u2019s Paddleboard Marathon by several minutes, and, like Gaul, earned her third Gold Medal of the five-day event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true: Brad and I, three races and three golds; we can\u2019t ask for anything more,\u201d Mercer said. \u201cComing to Peru was just a phenomenal experience; a whole new culture, things you don\u2019t see every day. I\u2019m so grateful that we came over here and so honored that I could come with the Australian team to be involved in such a prestigious competition. This may be the first year, but this is history that\u2019s being made, and hopefully these are some records that are going to stand for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Silver Medalist behind Mercer was South Africa\u2019s Anna Notten, who won the Bronze Medal in the shorter course earlier in the week, and was extremely satisfied with her second-place showing in the Marathon. But the course took its toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cDead, I\u2019ve never been so dead in my life,\u201d she said immediately after crossing the finish line. \u201cI caught the wave in and my arms, I couldn\u2019t even barely catch the wave; my whole body is shaking. I\u2019ve never paddled this far in my life. I\u2019ve never paddled half that far in my life. But coming in hearing the vuvuzelas is the most amazing feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Heading into the event ] I trained with my lifesaving friends, around the cans (buoys), but when they did long distance ski, I would do it on board with them because we\u2019ve got all of the sharks [in South Africa],\u201d she continued,\u201d so, I can\u2019t really train by myself in the middle of the ocean. So, it\u2019s quite difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Women\u2019s SUP Marathon, USA\u2019s Brandi Baksic completed the sweep of the SUP races, again winning with minutes between her and the next closest division competitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m just super stoked. I would have been mad at myself if I didn\u2019t get the second Gold Medal,\u201d she said. \u201cA couple months ago I thought I was done with racing SUPs. But now I have two Gold Medals and I helped USA win the Silver. It\u2019s a pretty cool feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australian Angela Jackson won the Silver Medal behind Baksic, her second medal of the event.<\/p>\n
In the Women\u2019s SUP Surfing Final, 18-year-old American Emmy Merrill ended the event the way she began: sticking to her strategy and overwhelming the competition with the control of her board and the power of her performance. Entering the Final she had won every heat she had surfed in the event, and by 10 minutes into the heat, she had the three other surfers in the combination situation, each requiring two scores to catch her score of 15.94. Merrill held on for the remainder of the heat and won the USA\u2019s second individual Gold Medal.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing into this event, I felt like I didn\u2019t really have a name or expectations because nobody really knew who I was, so it\u2019s great just coming in as the underdog and for people to just think, \u2018Oh, who\u2019s that?\u2019\u201d Merrill said. \u201cI\u2019m really honored to be the first [ISA Women\u2019s SUP Surfing Gold Medalist] and to win a medal at such a young age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antoine Delpero Frenchmen Antoine Delpero won the second ISA Gold Medal in his career with a commanding performance in the final of the Men\u00b4s SUP Surfing division. Photo: ISA\/Michael Tweddle<\/p>\n
Much like the women\u2019s surfing final, the Men\u2019s SUP Surfing Final was decided before most of the competitors could realize what had happened. By the 10-minute mark, France\u2019s Antoine Delpero had the field in the combination situation, with a pair of excellent scores for a total of 17.56. The Gold Medal was his second in ISA competition. He also won the Gold Medal in the Men\u2019s Longboard at the ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica in 2009.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t realize right now [how it feels to get the win], with the crowd and all, but I feel really good. I think tomorrow I\u2019m going to realize, but we\u2019re going to have a good night tonight,\u201d said Delpero, also appreciative of adding to his medal tally. \u201cIt feels so good to have two gold medals with the ISA, it\u2019s always a big pleasure to come with a crew and a team. The support is different than when you go in a competition by yourself, you have really big support, so thanks to the French crew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Merrill and Delpero will have their names engraved on the perpetual Hector Velarde Trophy, which will be presented annually to the winners of the Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s SUP Surfing divisions. Velarde, who was born and raised in Lima, won the Peruvian national championship in 1963. He donated the trophy to the event.<\/p>\n
With its strong showing on the final day of the event, Australia locked-up and ran away in the team standings, winning the Club Waikiki Trophy, which will be awarded annually to the overall team champion of the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship, in honor of Peru\u2019s most famous surf club, which was founded by Carlos Dogny in 1942.<\/p>\n
At the Awards Ceremony, where medals were handed out to the top four finishers in each of the 12 divisions, ISA President Fernando Aguerre expressed his gratitude to the Peruvian hosts, including Peruvian National Olympic Committee President Jose Quinones, and also had a message to those teams and countries who couldn\u2019t come to compete in the inaugural event.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure that some people are wondering \u2018Why didn\u2019t we go?\u2019 Don\u2019t worry, don\u2019t feel bad, we\u2019ll be here or some other place next year, because this event is going to happen every year, with the support of the SUPers and the paddlers around the world,\u201d President Aguerre said. \u201cWe are here to stay and to share the Olympic and the Aloha spirit. The ISA has a dream: to promote and take our wave-riding sports around the world and every day we work for it. Thank you for your help and we will see you next year. Gracias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tonight, all of the athletes, coaches, officials, local sponsors and local organizers will be celebrating a successful inaugural event with the ISA Aloha Beach Party at Club Waikiki.<\/p>\n
An unknown coming into the event, 18-year-old Emmy Merrill (USA) announced her presence in the Women\u00b4s SUP Surfing world with a Gold Medal performance. Photo: ISA\/Michael Tweddle<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s SUP Surfing Final
\nGold\/Hector Velarde Trophy \u2013 Emmy Merrill (USA) \u2013 15.94
\n Silver \u2013 Shakira Westdorp (AUS) \u2013 10.66
\n Bronze \u2013 Penny Stemmet (RSA) \u2013 10.34
\n Copper \u2013 Brissa Malaga (PER) \u2013 9.37<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s SUP Surfing Final
\nGold\/Hector Velarde Trophy \u2013 Antoine Delpero (FRA) \u2013 17.56
\n Silver \u2013 Justin Holland (AUS) \u2013 12.50
\n Bronze \u2013 Sean Poynter (USA) \u2013 12.20
\n Copper \u2013 Jackson Close (AUS) \u2013 11.64<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s Paddleboard Marathon Final Results
\n Gold \u2013 Brad Gaul (AUS)
\n Silver \u2013 Joel Mason (AUS)
\n Bronze \u2013 Shane Scoggins (USA)
\n Copper \u2013 Ryan Butcher (RSA)
\n 5 \u2013 Donald Brierley (RSA)
\n 6 \u2013 Matt Becker (USA)
\n 7 \u2013 Rodrigo Gamarra (PER)
\n 8 \u2013 Carlos Di Pace (ARG)
\n 9 \u2013 Luis Eduardo Escudero (PER)
\n 10 \u2013 Fabio Velasco (BRA)
\n 11 \u2013 Andre Turelly (BRA)
\n 12 \u2013 Gilbert Baez (VEN)
\n 13 \u2013 Guillermo Pena (SPA)
\n 14 \u2013 Fernando Labad (SPA)
\n 15 \u2013 Facundo Martin Diaz (ARG)<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Paddleboard Marathon Final Results
\n Gold \u2013 Jordan Mercer (AUS)
\n Silver \u2013 Anna Notten (RSA)
\n Bronze \u2013 Gillian Gibree (USA)
\n Copper \u2013 Concepcion Escatllar (SPA)
\n 5 \u2013 Rocio Larranaga (PER)<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s SUP Marathon Final Results
\n Gold \u2013 Jamie Mitchell (AUS)
\n Silver \u2013 Travis Grant (AUS)
\n Bronze \u2013 Eric Terrien (FRA)
\n Copper \u2013 Jay Wild (USA)
\n 5 \u2013 Paul Jackson (NZL)
\n 6 \u2013 Luiz Guido (BRA)
\n 7 \u2013 Gaetan Sene (FRA)
\n 8 \u2013 Rob Rojas (USA)
\n 9 \u2013 Belar Diaz (SPA)
\n 10 \u2013 Felipe Rodriguez (MEX)
\n 11 \u2013 Roman Frejo (SPA)
\n 12 \u2013 Chris Bertish (RSA)
\n 13 \u2013 Alexander Araujo (BRA)
\n 14 \u2013 Mark Slater (GBR)
\n 15 \u2013 Gonzalo Miranda (ARG)
\n 16 \u2013 Greg Bertish (RSA)
\n 17 \u2013 Piero Muscas (ITA)
\n 18 \u2013 Jean-Luc Malfroid (SWZ)
\n 19 \u2013 John Harvey (GBR)
\n 20 \u2013 Jose Schiaffino (PER)
\n 21 \u2013 Sebastian Borbero (ARG)
\n 22 \u2013 Bruno Garcia (PER)
\n 23 \u2013 Gian Paolo Lombardi (CHI)
\n 24 \u2013 Robert Etienne (SWZ)
\n 25 \u2013 Ed O\u2019Farrell (IRE)
\n 26 \u2013 Keith Gorman (IRE)
\n 27 \u2013 Carlos Navarro (CHI)
\n DNF \u2013 Hector Gonzales (MEX)<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s SUP Marathon Final Results
\n Gold \u2013 Brandi Baksic (USA)
\n Silver \u2013 Angela Jackson (AUS)
\n Bronze \u2013 Brigette van Aswegen (RSA)
\n Copper \u2013 Barbara Brazil (BRA)
\n 5 \u2013 Pat Hernandez (SPA)
\n 6 \u2013 Edimar Luque (VEN)
\n 7 \u2013 Jane Downes (IRE)
\n 8 \u2013 Lorena Cemersoni (ARG)
\n 9 \u2013 Antonella Podesta (CHI)<\/p>\n
Team Title Results
\n Gold\/Club Waikiki Trophy \u2013 Australia
\n Silver \u2013 USA
\n Bronze \u2013 South Africa
\n Copper \u2013 Spain
\n 5 \u00ad\u2013 Peru
\n 6 \u2013 Argentina
\n 7 \u2013 Brazil
\n 8 \u2013 France
\n 9 \u2013 Venezuela
\n 10 \u2013 Chile
\n 11 \u2013 Ireland
\n 12 \u2013 Great Britain
\n 13 \u2013 Mexico
\n 14 \u2013 Switzerland
\n 15 \u2013 New Zealand
\n 16 \u2013 Italy
\n 17 \u2013 Austria<\/p>\n
The ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship is made possible with the support of the following event partners: IPD, ADO, Club Waikiki. Repsol, Movistar, Casa Andina, Sticky Bumps, NSP, Terra, Municipalidad de Lima, Municipalidad de Miraflores, FENTA, Marina de Guerra del Peru, JAO, and Securitas. The media partners are Terra, StandUp Latino and Surfos.<\/p>\n
About the International Surfing Association
\n The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running Open Division World Championships since 1964, Junior World Championships since 1980, and Masters World Championships since 2007. The ISA also sanctions the World Kneeboard Titles and the Tandem Surfing World Titles, and held the first stand-alone World Bodyboard Championship in 2011 and the inaugural ISA China Cup in 2012. It will also hold the first World Standup Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship in 2012.<\/p>\n
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies of 70 countries on five continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided over by Fernando Aguerre (Argentina), first elected President in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro and re-elected seven times since. The ISA\u00b4s three Vice-Presidents are Alan Atkins (AUS), Kar\u00edn Sierralta (PER) and Debbie Beacham (USA).<\/p>\n
M\u00e1s en www.isasurf.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australia Runs Away With Team Title, Winning Three More Individual Gold Medals on Final Day of the ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship With a dominating overall showing in all disciplines at the inaugural ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship, Australia won Team Gold and the perpetual Club Waikiki Trophy, which is being … Continue reading “Australia Runs Away With Team Title, Winning Three More Individual Gold Medals on Final Day of the ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-isa-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18216,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13966\/revisions\/18216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}