Three gold medals and the Team title for South Africa at the 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in Peru

Team South Africa continued its reign as the undisputed champions of world masters surfing by trumping the world’s best 35-years and older surfers to win the overall teams crown at the 2008 ISA World Surfing Championships in perfect point break waves at Punta Rocas in Peru Saturday (April 5).

Led by individual gold medalists Heather Clark ( Women over 35), Marc Wright (over 45) and Chris Knutsen (over 50), South Africa blew away the competition to take their second consecutive Team World Championship.

South Africa finished on top with 10 500 points, 1 100 ahead of Australia in second, with Brazil (9 041) finishing third and hosts Peru rounding out the top four with 8 766 points.

The final day in the six days of competition offered solid one to 4 - 6 foot waves for the “Masters Olympics of Surfing”.

Former world tour surfer Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) got the ball rolling for the South African team, blasting her way to victory over Peru’s Rocio Larranaga, Sandra English (Australia) and Brigitte Mayer (Brazil)in the final of the Masters Women’s (Over 35) division.

South Africa’s most decorated female surfer was in a league of her own; netting 15.83 points in the final to end the event with the four highest heat tallies and the five highest single ride scores in the women’s event.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” Clark said. “In 2003 I was in contention for the title on the World Tour, so it’s always been my dream to win a world title. I’m over the moon.” 

Chris Knutsen (Durban) was the next winner for South Africa, mixing his trademark rail carves with a radical forehand approach to defeat Peru’s Paco Del Castillo, Australia’s Frank Hayter and Puerto Rico’s Rene Gonzalez in the Grand Kahunas (Over 50) division.

Knutsen was crowned over 45 World Champion in Puerto Rico last year and followed that up with the gold medal in the over 50 division this time round.

Durban’s Marc Wright completed the South Africa trifecta, snatching a last minute victory over fellow countrymen Nick Pike to nab gold in the Kahunas (Over 45) division. Sitting in second place with a minute remaining in the 30-minute final, Wright snared a set wave and exploded a series of classy frontside manoeuvres to post a heat-winning 8.33.

 

Pike took the silver with Punta Rocas local Jorge Posso (Peru) getting bronze and Australia’s Rod Baldwin taking the copper.

1988 Pipeline Masters champion Rob Page (Australia) rekindled his competitive surfing career at the tournament by reaching the finals of both the Grand Masters and Masters divisions.

 

 

Puerto Rico’s Juan Ashton was the only Latin America title winner, netting his second successive Masters title. Ashton scored 17.50 out of 20, the highest heat score of the day to defeat Ricardo Toledo (Brazil) and Australia’s pair of Rob Page and Jay Sharpe in the only final that did not feature a South African competitor.

 

ISA President Fernando Aguerre awarded the surfers their medals in the event’s closing ceremony.

He was ecstatic about the success of this international event stating, “I would like to thank the Peruvian people and the Peruvian Surfing Federation for welcoming us with open arms.”

“This 160 visitors will be leaving the country with a Peruvian warmth tattooed in our hearts, we are new ambassadors for Peru. The proverbial fountain of youth is closer than we might think: Its the waves of the world...We don’t stop surfing because we get old, we get old because we stop surfing...So don’t stop!”

The location of the 2009 ISA World Masters Surfing Championships has not yet been chosen but locations in South Africa and Brazil are in the running.