A powerful Mount Maunganui swell of around two metres provided for a tough start to the International Surf Rescue Challenge at the Mount on Thursday. Photo / Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media
A powerful Mount Maunganui swell of around two metres provided for a tough start to the International Surf Rescue Challenge at the Mount on Thursday. Photo / Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media
But Gisborne’s Cory Taylor (Midway), the captain of the NZ Black Fins, rose to the occasion with a fine second place in the open men’s ski.
Black Fins captain Cory Taylor led by example with a fine paddle in the open men's ski. Here he negotiates the final stages of the race in the big surf. Photo /Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media.
He added a fourth placing in the open men’s surf race to score further points for his team.
Less than half the field finished both men’s and women’s ski finals, such was the carnage caused by the thunderous surf conditions.
On the beach, Irving won her heat of the open women’s sprint. She then won final, heading off Australia’s Britney Ingr and South Africa’s Zoe Beresford.
Reigning world champion Briana Irving, of Gisborne, powering to victory in the open women's beach sprints on the opening day of the International Surf Rescue Challenge at Mt Maunganui. Photo / Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media
Oscar Smith (black cap), who won the beach sprint at last year's world lifesaving champs, repeated that at the International Surf Rescue Challenge on Thursday. Photo / Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media
Oska Smith, formerly of of Waikanae and now with Omanu SLSC in the Bay of Plenty, did the same in the open men’s beach sprint.
He, too, won his heat, then finished first in the final ahead of Matthew Lloyd (Australia) and Mario Gineres Garre (Spain).
Irving (of the Kaiaponi Farms Waikanae club) and Australia-based Gisborne athlete Olivia Corrin (Dawson Building Midway) were part of the gold medal-winning Black Fins women’s beach relay team.
Smith was in the men’s team that won the B final in the men’s beach relay.
Midway club members Ella Sutton and Jacqueline Kennedy were in the Junior Black Fins beach relay team that finished third in their final.
In the beach flags finals later in the day, Irving was fifth in the open women’s final and Smith was sixth in the open men’s final.
The first day of the carnival was called off in the afternoon because of unrelenting seas.
