Malone surfs world waves

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Gisborne grandparents Dennis and Cynthia Malone are closely following the fortunes of the New Zealand team at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Brazil.

Their grandson Navryn Malone, son of 1998 national surfing champion Chris, has been competing in the under-18 division of the event, being held at at Praia da Macumba, Rio de Janeiro.

Surfing in Heat 30 of Round 1, he placed a close second to Gabriel Ljubicic, of Peru.

Malone, who surfs out of Raglan, put in a strong performance in challenging conditions on Monday (NZ time).

“The waves were average, and it was a slow heat,” he said.

“There weren’t many waves that offered a lot.”

The result meant Malone, 18, advanced to Heat 15 of Round 2 yesterday.

However, he struggled to find waves with high scoring potential and finished with a 6.63 heat score. Brazilian Luan Ferreyra dominated with a 13.5 heat total.

Malone will surf in the repechage round today.

His father Chris, who grew up and came to surfing prominence in Gisborne, is living in Raglan and working at Fraser High School, in Hamilton.