Gisborne lifesavers Taylor, Fyall and Corrin shine at Sanyo Cup carnival in Japan

Standing tall: The New Zealand team stand with the flag after finishing second at the Sanyo Cup lifesaving competition in Fukuoka, Japan. Midway’s Cory Taylor, captain of the team, is second left, Waikanae’s Casie Fyall, vice-captain, is standing next to him, fourth left, and Midway’s Olivia Corrin is standing in the centre of the five female team members in front. Australia won the two-day carnival, which also drew teams from the USA, Great Britain, South Africa, Hong Kong and Japan. Picture supplied

SURF LIFESAVING

GISBORNE athletes were to the fore as New Zealand took second place in the annual Sanyo Cup lifesaving competition in Japan at the weekend.

Midway Surf Life Saving Club member Cory Taylor was team captain, Waikanae’s Casie Fyall was vice-captain, and Midway’s Olivia Corrin turned in one of the standout performances of the team.

Australia won the two-day competition, run by the Japan Lifesaving Association. Teams from the USA, Great Britain, South Africa, Hong Kong and Japan also took part. Last year New Zealand finished third.

The competition comprised beach and ocean events, with the full programme contested on each of the two days.

Corrin won the ocean woman race — equivalent to the ironwoman or diamond lady — on Sunday after finishing third in the Saturday race.

She also finished first — with Claudia Kelly — in the women’s board rescue on the second day.

Corrin was second in the women’s surf race on both days, second — with Louis Clark, Macy Burns and Luther Maxwell — in the mixed surf team race on both days, and third in the women’s board race on Sunday after a fourth placing on Saturday.

Corrin and Fyall — with Macy Burns and Hannah Baker — won the women’s beach relay on Saturday and were second on Sunday.

Corrin and Fyall — again with Burns and Baker — were second on both days in the tube rescue for women.

Fyall was second on both days in the women’s beach flags, third on both days in the women’s beach sprint, and second on both days — with Kelly, Burns and Baker — in the ocean woman relay.

Taylor won the men’s surf ski on Saturday and Sunday, and — with Scott Cowdrey — the men’s board rescue on both days.

He was second in the ocean man on Sunday, after finishing third in the Saturday race, and in the men’s board race he improved from eighth on Saturday to third on Sunday.

In a team with Murdoch Finch, Cowdrey and Clark, Taylor finished second in the ocean man relay on both days.

With Finch, Cowdrey and Maxwell, Taylor finished third on both days in the men’s beach relay.

After finishing 20 points behind Australia on the first day of competition at Momochi Beach, Fukuoka, the New Zealand team pushed back on Day 2. Their Sunday points total was just eight points behind that of Australia.

New Zealand coach Danny Morrison said all the athletes did the country proud, giving it “everything they had”.

Taylor led from the front, pushing himself through race after race and achieving results that reflected his world-class skills across the beach.

Team supporters praised standout performances from Papamoa’s Cowdrey, who was “phenomenal” on the board, and Midway’s Corrin for her “gutsy” performance.

Cowdrey won the board rescue with Taylor and then backed it up with a convincing win in the board race, which supporters said was “simply awesome to watch”.

Meanwhile, Corrin swam to a close second in the surf race and then won the testing ocean woman race.

Supporters said her performance was inspirational. She showed “guts and determination” to win against a field of world-class athletes.