AUSTRALIA’S 3-NIL WHITEWASH OVER KIWIS IN SURF TESTS
Surf Life Saving Australia, September 22, 2013: Onjuku, Japan: Australia has secured a 3-nil Series whitewash over arch rivals New Zealand to successfully defend its International Surf Rescue Challenge and Trans Tasman Surf Life Saving trophies in perfect two metre waves that pounded Onjuku Beach in Japan today.
Led by Ironman king and captain Shannon Eckstein, his fellow Northcliffe Ironwoman champion Kristyl Smith and surf-ski paddling duo Naomi Flood and Lachlan Tame, the Australian Life Saving Team completely dominated the three Test Series.
It was the first major step towards redemption for the new-look Australian team who started with a commanding 17 point win on Thursday, followed it up with another 17-point win on Sunday and completed the whitewash with a point win (today, Sunday).
Eckstein, who won the Ironman in the first two Tests, settled for second today when fellow Northcliffe team mate and Kiwi Max Beattie came from behind on the board and the pair hit the shore together.
The four-time Australian champion and seven-time Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Series winner wasn’t going to push his recovering calf injry in a sprint finish and in a dead-rubber, just a month out from the Coolangatta Gold.
Smith, just a week after winning the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Trial at Salt, Kingscliff made it three from three in her specialist Ironwoman event before winning the board and playing her part in the winning board rescue (with Rachelle King) the Tube Rescue and the first two Ocean Woman and Beach Relays.
Manly’s Gold Coast-based Olympic kayaker Naomi Flood confirmed her status as the world’s finest woman surf ski paddler with another faultless display as did her fellow paddler, future Olympian and three-time National ski champion Lachlan Tame.
The pair were unbeaten throughout the three Tests in their respective single ski events, the Mixed Ski Relay and the Ocean Woman and Ocean Man Relays.
Both paddlers also played crucial roles in the Australian Beach Relays with Australia winning five of the six relays with Tame anchoring the men.
Flood (the K1 500, K2 500 and K4 500) and Tame (K1 200 and K2 200) will now continue to chased places in the Australian Olympic Team for Rio in 2016 and have declared their availability for next year’s World Championships in France.
Kurrawa’s beach flags queen Melissa Howard hardly missed a beat winning five of the six flags/beach sprint events and two of the three relays.
Meanwhile the Australian Youth Team, competing in the Under 20 competition, sometimes in the same events as the opens showed why Australia has so much depth with the likes of team captain Kurrawa’s Luke Cuff (three Ironman and three boards) and new Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Series recruit Emma Dick from Mermaid (three Ironwoman wins) dominating New Zealand and Japan.
Australia’s depth was highlighted in the final water events of the Test which saw the Open Teams (Women: Naomi Flood, Rachelle King and Miranda Bell) and (Men: Dev Lahey, Kendrick Louis and Lachlan Tame) win their Ocean Man Relays (a single man Taplin) with victories over the Australian Youth Teams who beat the other six Open teams.
And the Australians cut themselves some slack, resting Kristyl Smith and Shannon Eckstein.
National Team Head Coach Danny Short now has 12 months to mould his team to make an all out-assault on the Kiwis in a bid to wrest back the Allan Whelpton World Championship trophy at Rescue 2014.
MEMO SPORTS EDITORS: I will be back in the office on Tuesday September 24 ands can supply any hi res pix and background and quotes. Please contact me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
International Surf Rescue Challenge, Onjuku Beach, Japan, 3rd Test:
OPEN
Women
Ocean Man K Smith (AUS) D McKenzie (NZL) E Smith (AUS)
Surf race D Halligan (NZL) N Peat (NZL) K Smith (AUS)
Beach Sprint M Howard (AUS)C Hickman (NZL) E Brady (CAN)
Beach flags M Howard (AUS) C Hickman (NZL) A Tadano (JPN)
Ski N Flood (AUS) D McKenzie (NZL) L Carrington (NZL)
Board K Smith (AUS) D McKenzie (NZL) D Halligan (NZL)
Board Rescue AUS (K Smith R King) NZL (D Halligan D McKenzie) USA (C Kemp T Morgan) Ocean Woman Relay AUS (M Bell R King N Flood M Howard) NZL JPN
Beach Relay NZL AUS (N Flood M Howard K Smith E Smith)
Tube Rescue AUS (E Smith N Flood M Bell K Smith) NZL (L Carrington K Wannan D McKenzie N Peat) USA (A Fittin C Kemp T Morgan K O’Donnell)
Men
Ocean Man M Beattie (NZL) S Eckstein (AUS) K Louis (AUS)
Surf Race D Lahey (AUS) T O’Neill (USA) A McMillan (NZL)
Beach sprint J Lynch (AUS) P Cracroft-Wilson (NZL) K Takezawa (JPN)
Beach flags J Lynch (AUS) B Costello (NZL) S Odagiri (JPN)
Ski L Tame (AUS) C Moors (NZL) S Eckstein (AUS)
Board S Eckstein (AUS) K Louis (AUS) N Malcolm (NZL)
Rescue Tube (M Beattie C Moors L O’Loughlin A McMillan) AUS (T Schofield D Lahey S Eckstein L Tame) USA (T Burdiak B Costello T O’Neill S Lane)
Board Rescue (S Eckstein T Schofield) NZL (M Beattie N Malcolm) USA (T O’Neill S Scroggins)
Ocean Man Relay AUS (K Louis, L Tame, J Lynch, D Lahey) NZL USA
Beach Relay AUS NZL JPN
YOUTH
Women
Ocean WomanE Dick (AUS) M Davies (AUS) J Miller (NZL)
Surf race C Doyle (NZL) E Gasparotto (AUS) J Miller (NZL)
Beach flags G Murphy (AUS) O Eaton (NZL) S Bernier (CAN)
Ski K Radley (NZL) K Wilson (NZL) M Davies (AUS) Board M Dunn (AUS) K Wilson (NZL) J Smith (NZL)
Rescue Tube NZL (C Doyle J Smith J Miller K Wilson) AUS (E Dick E Gasparotto G Murphy M Davies) JPN (S Nakajima K Sakamoto M Ueno K Katsumata)
Board Rescue (M Dunn T Raymond ) NZL (J Smith J Miller) JPN (S Nakajima K Sakamoto) Ocean Woman Relay AUS NZL JPN
Beach Relay AUS NZL JPN
Men
Ocean Man I Costello (AUS) B Cochrane (NZL) B Johnston (NZL)
Surf race B Carberry (AUS) L Cuff (AUS) A Trembath (NZL)
Beach sprint J Symmonds (AUS) J Hurley (NZL) T Tomizawa (JPN)
Beach flags J Symmonds (AUS) J Hurley (NZL) T Morino (NZL)
Ski B Bain (AUS) B Carberry (AUS) B Cochrane (NZL)
Board B Johnston (NZL) D Hart (NZL) L Cuff (AUS)
Rescue Tube AUS (B Carberry I Costello B Bain S Demopolous) NZL (A Trembath B Cochrane B Johnstson J Hurley) JPN (T Tomizawa T Nagaishi T Morino T Minagawa) Board rescue AUS (L Cuff I Costello) NZL (B Johnston D Hart) JPN (M Kobayashi T Nagaishi)
Ocean Man Relay AUS NZL JPN
Beach Relay AUS NZL JPN
MIXED
OPEN
Board Relay AUS (K Louis K Smith) NZL (D McKenzie N Malcolm) USA (K O’Donnell S Scoggins)
Ski Relay AUS (N Flood L Tame) NZL (L Carrington L O’Loughlin) USA (J Noonan R Sprout) Surf Teams NZL (K Wannan N Peat A McMillan M Beattie) AUS (T Schofield D Lahey E Smith M Bell) JPN (K Oshima K Ochiai Y Mitsui R Takeuchi)
Youth
Board RelayAUS (L Cuff M Dunn) NZL (D Hart J Smith) JPN (M Kobayashi K Sakamoto)
Ski Relay NZL (J Manners K Radley) AUS B Bain M Davies) JPN (M Kobayashi S Takahashi) Surf Teams AUS (L Cuff B Carberry E Dick E Gasporotto) NZL (A Trembath B Johnston C Doyle J Miller)
Issued on behalf of Surf Life Saving Australia...
Ian Hanson
FOLLOW HMG NEWS & EVENTS ON TWITTER/LIVE UPDATES
Hanson Media Group | P O Box 299 | West Burleigh Qld 4219
Phone: +61 7 5522 5556 | Mobile 0407 385 160 | Fax: +61 7 5522 5557
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | www.hansonmediagroup.com