Bianca One Heat Away

BIANCA IS BACK: With Olympic surfing slots at stake, the top names are here. Photo ISA / Cestari

SA Women’s champion Zoe Steyn delivered South Africa’s first two heat wins of the event, easily outpointing her rivals from Germany and China in Round 1 and then finishing just 0.10 ahead of Peony Knight (GBR) in Round 2.

Competing in only her second ISA WSG event, the East London-based teenager then came up against seasoned international campaigners Rachel Presti (Germany) and Anali Gomez (Peru) in Round 3. Despite her best efforts, Steyn finished in third place, a heart-breaking four/hundredths of a point (0.04) behind Gomez, and South Africa’s rising star resumed her challenge in Women’s Repercharge Round 4. She made it through, but fell in a star-studded 5th Round today, in which Carissa Moore took the win, followed by Sally Fitzgibbons, Johanne Defay, and Steyn.

Bianca Buitendag opened her Day 2 account with a runner-up finish behind event standout Caroline Marks (USA) before going on to win her Round 3 heat. Today, she took second in Round 4 to squeeze through, and then all her Championship Tour experience came to the fore with an emphatic win in Round 5 against Tatiana Weston-Webb, Caroline Marks and Stephanie Gilmore.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL: Zoe Steyn was relegated to the repercharge by 0.04pts. Photo ISA / Cestari

Australia based former Durbanite Sarah Baum simply could not find a high scoring second counting ride to add to the 6.17 (out of 10) she posted early in her Round 2 heat. Baum slipped to third place and into the cutthroat Repercharge Rounds where any heat result other than first or second will see her eliminated from the event.

However, the winner of the Ballito Women’s Pro in KZN in July bounced back with a 7.17 and a 4.33 to easily clinch the runner-up berth in her Repercharge Round 2 encounter. She then coasted through Rounds 3, 4 and 5 with straight heat winds, but earlier today came unstuck in Round 6.

With Olympic qualification at stake, the ISA World Surfing Games presented by Vans has attracted the crème-de-la-crème of the world’s surf stars and the standard of surfing among the record setting 103 women competitors has been exceptional. For instance, Round 8 of the repercharge round reads like a whose who of the CT. Two heats will be contested by Anat Lelior (ISR), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Courtney Conlogue (USA), Caroline Marks (USA), Brisa Hennessy (CRC), Carissa Moore (USA) and Nikki van Dijk (AUS)

REPERCHARGE ROUTE: Sarah Baum made it to Repercharge Round 6. Photo ISA / Cestari

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SCHEDULE
September 10
Aloha Cup (TBC)
Open Women
Start to Open Men

September 11
Finals Open Women
Open Men competition continues

September 15
Finals Open Men
Closing Ceremony

The 2019 ISA World Surfing Games presented by Vans is broadcast Sept 7-15 on www.isasurf.org.

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