Clean sheets for six nations at World Surfing Games
Source: www.isasurf.org
posted on 23rd March 2004
A full day of action in one to 1.5 metre (3-5 foot) waves that saw the men and women bodyboarders take to the surf for the first time in the 2004 ISA World Surfing Games in Salinas, Ecuador, resulted in the first eliminations from the event with only six of the 27 national teams in attendance retaining all of their squad members after day three.
Defending team champions South Africa, runners-up Australia along with Brazil, Peru and unexpectedly Costa Rica and the host nation, Ecuador, all have their full complement of competitors still involved in the event, while the other nations have already had one or more of their members eliminated.
The value of local knowledge was clearly demonstrated as the Ecuadorians, who did not attend the last edition of the WSG in Durban, South Africa, in 2002, fought their way through the repecharge rounds of the men's event and posted outstanding results in the bodyboard to finish the day in a better position than established surfing powers such as France, Spain and the USA.
Costa Rica, who finished stone last in Durban, have impressed since the opening day of the event when all four of their men qualified in the powerful two to three metre surf. And their bodyboarders carried on the good work today.
Spain and Tahiti each lost one of their men today to hold equal seventh place in the provisional standings, while Argentina, who are short of one men's bodyboarder, and France and another South American country in Venezuela, who each lost two in the men's event, fill out the current top 10 in the prestigious team event.
In the men's repecharge rounds that started in excellent low tide conditions on the left breaking point at Playa de le FAE, Australia's Mark Bannister, a shock elimination in Saturday's first round, made amends by matching the highest individual heat score of the division to date when he recorded 15.66 points from a possible 20 this morning.
He was closely followed by Chile's Manuel Selman (14.90), South Africa's Shane Thorne (14.86) and New Zealand's Zenor Wernham (13.66) who all easily progressed through their second round repecharge heats in the afternoon too, where Brazilian Jussemir Junior (14.76) and Thorne (14.66) were the top scorers as the tide rolled in and the conditions deteriorated.
The first round of the men's bodyboard also produced outstanding performances particularly from Spain's Alvaro Padron whose 16.99 point aggregate for his best two rides was highest recorded in any heat in the event to date. Padron went on to win his second round heat while defending champion Nicolas Capdeville (France) showed he would be a contender again with two high scoring heats.
Emiliano Tabare, who earned Argentina's first ever WSG medal when he clinched silver in Durban, convincingly won his first heat but came up short in the second, as did Darren Halse (SAfr) while the Ecuadorians Jorge Maldonado and Darwin Montesdeoca both reached the last 12 in the qualifiers stream.
The women's bodyboard featured several outstanding performers who totally outclassed their opposition, including defending champ Neymara Carvalho (Brazil) who scored more than the other two girls in her heat combined. Heloise Bourroux (France), the 2002 runner-up, was another to score more than both her opponent's scores, while Kira Llewellin (Aus), Marina Taylor (Spain) and Yolanda Blanco (Mexico) secured substantial victories.
Tuesday's program sees the main podium being used for men's surfing repecharge rounds three and four plus qualifiers round four, along with longboard repecharge round one and qualifiers round two.
The female surfers take to the surf in front of the second podium starting at 8am followed by the first repecharge round of men's bodyboarding and the first repecharge round of women's surfing.
The champions in the five individual disciplines, the ISA Trophee and the world champion nation in the 20th edition of the ISA World Surfing Games will be crowned on Sunday March 28.
NB Further releases from various teams and images from the 2004 ISA WSG are available on
www.surfersvillage.comFor further information:
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