Connor Baxter and Annabel Anderson take gold at stop 3 of the Stand up World Series in Oleron
Sunday 9 June
Connor Baxter storms to victory at Stop 3 of World Series
Connor Baxter (Starboard) steals the show on the final day of competition at the Oleron Island Paddle Challenge, stop 3 on the 2013 Stand Up World Series and the opener for the World Series’ European Trilogy.
With an epic performance in the World Series Sprints, Connor fought off amongst the best in the World to take the win, which coupled with his 2nd place in the long distance put him in 1st overall for the event – his 3rd straight win of the season giving him a 100% win record so far this year on theWorld Series.
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Kai Lenny wins the long distance, but finishes 2nd overall
Kai Lenny (Naish) had a great start to the event in the difficult conditions on offer at Oleron Island, taking the win in the long distance race. Due to menacing thunder and lightening storms that threatened the whole area on Saturday, organizers were forced to abandon the original 30km course and adopt a shorter version to fit into the window of opportunity that the weather provided. Kai navigated the upwind and downwind legs of the course perfectly, to take the win ahead of arch rival and current World Series ratings leader, Connor Baxter (Starboard).
In the sprint racing, in a fiercely contested final, Kai had to settle for 4th, meaning that he would finish in 2nd place overall behind Connor for this stop of the World Series. The two Maui boys continue their dominance on the World Series and battle it out event to event for an intense and exciting rivalry of epic proportions.
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Beau O’Brien makes his presence felt here in Ile d’Oleron
Putting on an impressive display of paddling in both long distance and sprint racing courses, newcomer to the World Series and one of Australia’s leading lights Beau O’Brien put on a performance to remember, finishing in 3rd place in both races and 3rd overall for the event.
Beau is a name to watch out for and we are excited to see him at forthcoming events on the World Series as we build up to the dramatic World Championship Finals at Turtle Bay, on the North Shore of Oahu.
Casper Steinfath continues his great form in 2013 Series
In 4th place overall, we have 3 incredible athletes tied after strong performances from all 3 in both races. The Viking from Denmark, Casper Steinfath (Naish) had a disappointing race for him in the long distance, having to settle for 9th place, but came back with a vengeance in the sprint racing, taking second place behind Connor Baxter (Starboard) to shoot him up to 4th place overall.
This will keep the young Danish talent in 3rd place overall in the World Series ratings and stand him in good stead for the European Trilogy Title as we now head off to the Basque Country of Spain for the Bilbao World Paddle Challenge from the 21st – 23rd June.
Eric Terrien demonstrates why he is one of Europe’s best
Tying with Casper for 4th overall was the ever impressive Frenchman, Eric Terrien (BicSUP), who put on solid performances in both long distance and sprint races, finishing in 4th place in the long distance and then reaching the Final for the sprint racing, and posting a seventh place.
Eric continues to be one of Europe’s leading lights and France’s number one athlete on the global racing stage and after a 4th overall on the World Series last year, you can expect some great things from the Frenchman in 2013.
Chase Kosterlitz puts on a great display in both formats
The final 4th place finisher, completing the tie was Chase Kosterlitz, who managed the tricky conditions well in the long distance to finish 5th and then like Eric, reached the final of the sprint race to finish in 6th place.
This was the first race for Chase on the World Series and we look forward to seeing him back on the US Trilogy of events running from the end of August through September in the lead up to the World Series Finals at Turtle Bay in October.
Star studded field provides intensely competitive racing
There were great performances across the whole fleet this weekend in Oleron, as the world’s best adapted to the conditions and put on world class performances.
From the Australian contingent of Paul Jackson (Fanatic) and Jake Jenson (Naish), to the Italian stand out from stop 2 in Brazil, Leonard Nika (Starboard) and the young Frenchman, Arthur Arutkin, the star-studded fleet made it a weekend to remember on the beautiful Island of Oleron, with a truly international field represented on the West coast of France.
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Annabel Anderson once again takes the world by storm
Annabel Anderson (Starboard) once again shows her dominance in the women’s fleet with another devastating performance here in the Oleron Island Paddle Challenge. After beating everyone at last year’s event in the iconic downwind course around the island, Annabel looked even stronger this year, as she took on the world’s best men and women and battled with the very best men from all over the world.
Finishing in an incredible 6th place overall in the long distance, just a second behind 5th place athlete Chase Kosterlitz (Fanatic), Annabel once again showed that she is a force to be reckoned with, and not only in the women’s division! In the sprints, it was similar story, as she powered her way through the heats to take the win and the overall.
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Angela Jackson puts on a solid performance in Oleron
Finishing in 2nd, with a second place in both sprint and long distance races, the powerhouse from down under, Angela Jackson (Fanatic) proved her worth in the challenging conditions and represented Australia and the Jackson family well here in Oleron.
There is no doubt that Angela is a force to be reckoned with and a key player in the elite field of women’s stand up paddlers worldwide.
Olivia Piana and Marie Buchanan turn heads in Oleron
In 3rd place overall, Olivia Piana from France finished 3rd in the Sprints and 4th in the long distance, notching up another strong result for the young French talent. Olivia had a great finish at the World Series Finals in Turtle Bay in 2012, and will be looking to improve on this for 2013, aiming for the leading lady, Annabel Anderson as the year progresses – stay tuned to www.watermanleague.com to see how the year plays out.
Finishing in an impressive 4th place, with a 3rd place in the long distance was Marie Buchanan from the UK – a great performance from this British athlete, pitting her skills against the world’s best here in Oleron.
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Great performances throughout at Stop 3 of World Series
That is a wrap for stop 3 of the 2013 Stand UP World Series on the Island of Oleron in West France: despite the challenging weather conditions, an extremely competitive weekend of racing saw a dramatic result with Connor Baxter (Starboard) and Annabel Anderson (Starboard) continuing their spectacular form here in 2013, but with Kai Lenny (Naish) right there, as well as Casper Steinfath (currently 3rd in the rankings), Eric Terrien (Bic SUP), Chase Kosterlitz (Fanatic), Jake Jenson (Naish), Paul Jackson (Fanatic) and many more.
Stay tuned to www.watermanleague.com for the next stop on the European Trilogy of events: the Bilbao World Paddle Challenge taking place from the 21st – 23rd June in the Basque Country of Spain.
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A big thank you to the Island of Oleron and our sponsors
A big thank you to the beautiful Island of Oleron for hosting us this past weekend, as well as of course our sponsors: Exocet, Mobile tout terrain, My GeoLive and Nautic, not to mention our host, Diabolo Fun. It was great to be back in Oleron again this year and we look forward to returning to this beautiful part of the world in 2014.
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