Team South Africa dominate 2008 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship
Thursday 3rd, April 2008
Punta Rocas
Team South Africa, winners of the team gold medal at the inaugural ISA World Masters Surfing Championships at Puerto Rico in 2007, dominated today’s round with Marc Wright (Kahunas), Nick Pike (Kahunas), Andre Malherbe (Grand Masters), Chris Knutsen (Grand Kahunas) and Heather Clark (Master Womens) all netting big wins in their respective divisions.
East London charger Andre Malherbe was in a class of his own in the powerful, overhead conditions, notching today’s highest individual wave score and combined heat score to setoff a South African whitewash of the day’s surfing action.
Malherbe utilised his exciting competition repertoire to beat Brazil’s former world tour surfer Jojo De Olivenca, Peru’s Koki Vilaran and France’s Pierre Lagarde in convincing fashion.
Showing no signs of nerves in the highly anticipated round three heat, Malherbe locked in a 8.5 before jagging a near perfect 9.5 to finish with a two-wave combined total of a 18.00 (out of a possible 20).
“It was good to get a good win under my belt and be one step closer to the final,” said Malherbe.
Image and article source:
International Surfing Association