Costa Rica entró al Top 10 Mundial  y se deja la casilla 9

ISA News in English below

·         Entre 31 países, de los cuales 13 países son de habla hispana en el Mundial, sólo Costa Rica y Perú entraron al Top 10.   

·         Perú hace historia al ganar su primer título mundial.      

CARLOS ENRIQUE BRENES :: FEDERACIÓN DE SURF

Por quinta vez consecutiva, en el evento más importante del año en materia de surf, la selección nacional de Costa Rica se metió al Top 10 mundial al lograr la casilla 9 después de sufrir la  temprana descalificación en los ISA World Surfing Games que terminaron hoy en las olas de Punta Hermosa de Lima, Perú. 

Sin embargo, el trabajo en equipo, más la introducción de dos de sus atletas entre los mejores 16 del mundo, Lisbeth Vindas y Carlos Muñoz en Femenino y Open correspondientemente,  hizo que el equipo lograra su meta para este compromiso, cual fue el más difícil de los últimos cuatro mundiales a los que se asistió.

Hasta ayer, Costa Rica cerraba en la casilla 10; no obstante, hoy terminó de caer el último venezolano con vida en el mundial, lo cual hizo que Costa Rica, una vez más, fuera el segundo mejor país hispano parlante en el mundial.

Para este mundial, las sorpresas no pararon de llegar a lo largo de los ocho días competencia. Primeramente la eliminación en el día tres del australiano favorito al podio, Mark Richardson, el desbalance latinoamericano, la pobre actuación de Portugal en la casilla 24, el sexto puesto del ahora ex campeón Estados Unidos, y por supuesto, la consagración mundial del primer país de habla hispana en un mundial.

“La verdad, nos pone feliz el hecho de que no nos guste el puesto nueve porque sabemos que nuestro equipo está para más y no vamos entrar en conformismos. Para un siguiente mundial, vamos a trabajar en los errores que se pudieron cometer aquí y luchar lugares más arriba en la tabla mundial, como lo hemos venido haciendo en los últimos años”, dijo José Ureña, DT del equipo.

El cuerpo técnico ahora piensa en el siguiente compromiso internacional que es el Campeonato Centroamericano que se realizará en Nicaragua, en  las olas de playa Maderas, en San Juan del Surf, a donde la nacional acude como defensora del título de las cinco naciones. Costa Rica es tetracampeón del área.

El campeonato se llevará a cabo los días 20 y 21 de noviembre, evento al que Costa Rica acudirá con una “selección b” que nombrará en los próximos días.

Por otra parte,  la fecha previa a la final del Circuito Latinoamericano, ALAS Latin Tour 6 estrellas que se llevará a cabo en el mes de diciembre, para finalmente anunciarse la apertura del próximo circuito nacional en el mes de enero.

La selección nacional llegará al país mañana a Costa Rica en horas de la tarde.

NUEVO RANKING MUNDIAL

1-    Perú                           17792 puntos.

2-    Australia                     17020

3-    Sudáfrica                   12600

4-    Brasil                          12420

5-    Francia                       10620

6-    Tahití                          10540

7-    Estados Unidos          10356

8-    Nueva Zelanda          9160

9-   Costa Rica           8480

10- España                       8100

11- Venezuela                  7640

12- Puerto Rico                7240

13- Chile                           6960

14- Argentina                    6920

15- México                       6912

16- Reino Unido               6894

17- Panamá                     6034

18- Japón                         5416

19- Ecuador                     5126

20- Alemania                    4864

21- Uruguay                     4738

22- Suiza                          4272

23- Guatemala                 4160

24- Portugal                      4032

25- Canadá                      3504

26- Suecia                        3344

27- Rep. Dominicana       3112

28- Israel                          2656

29- Jamaica                     1920

30- Ireland                        640

31-   Barbados                    560             

Medallero Longboard

Oro: Rodrigo Sphyer (BRA)

Plata: John Constable (AUS)

Bronce:  Harley Ingleby (AUS)

Cobre: Benoit Clemente (PER)

Medallero Open Damas

Oro: Chelsea Hedges (AUS)

Plata: Sofía Mulanovich (PER)

Bronce: Pauline Ado (FRA)

Cobre: Paige Hareb (NZL)

Medallero Open Hombres

Oro: Hira Terinatoofa (TAH)

Plata: Gabriel Villarán (PER)

Bronce: Alan Jhones (BRA)

Cobre: Mick Campbell (AUS) 

***

Peruvian Gold!

Billabong ISA World Surfing Games presented by Amarok of Volkswagen
Punta Hermosa, Peru
October 27, 2010

Forty five hundred years after first riding waves in reed boats and 45 years after the World Contest was held in Peru, surfers from this proud nation took back a small but precious piece of their gold – as Team Gold Medalists in the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games Presented by Amarok of Volkswagen.

It was a fairytale ending to an event steeped in a mix of camaraderie and cutthroat competition as Team Peru gave every ounce of effort to take the overall gold medal today from Team Australia in solid 5-foot Señoritas lefts at Punta Hermosa, near Lima, Peru. It was the first time that the Peruvians have won an overall ISA Title since Felipe Pomar’s individual win in the 1965 World Championships more than four decades ago when the Titles were only individual, not national teams.

After a week’s worth of big, powerful swell, high-octane snaps and stylish nose rides, the 2010 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games presented by Amarok of Volkswagen in Peru came to a fireworks finish today with a nail-biting set of finals. With more than 200 surfers competing at this year’s games, the sleepy surfside village was transformed into surfing’s version of an Olympic city with as many languages being spoken, as there were waves on tap for the event.

Throughout the week, flags were raised and anticipations swelled as the dream of taking home a Team Gold medal took root in the minds of every surfer in the event. Remarkably, the overall gold medal didn’t have to travel very far as the Peruvians took the win in a heartfelt moment. The Australians would come in second earning the Team Silver Medal with the South Africans third and Bronze, and Brazil taking the Copper for fourth.  

From the opening heats of the Games at Punta Hermosa that began eight days ago, the Peruvians appeared razor sharp and sublimely focused as they competed against the 30 other teams vying for a spot on the podium. With the final day of competition looming overhead, Team Peru stood firm and was able to place five team members into the three finals and looked to be the team to beat.

On the individual level, a veritable pantheon of current surfing giants and future stars proved to be razor sharp. Claiming the prestigious men’s shortboard Gold, Tahiti’s ultra-stylish Hira Teriinatoofa squeaked out a narrow win over Peruvian hometown hero Gabriel Villaran.

"I am very happy winning the Gold. All I wanted was to make the final and to have fun,” said Terinatoofa, who repeated the Gold that he had won 6 years ago at the ISA World Surfing Games in Ecuador. “Thanks goes to God for the choice of the waves I took.”

Throughout the Games, both Teriinatoofa and Villaran looked impeccable, but it was Teriinatoofa’s lightning fast turns and competitive strategy that proved golden. As they played the Tahitian anthem, Teriinatoofa shrouded himself in his flag, held his hand to his heart, and emotionally soaked in the glory of winning a gold medal.

“I cannot explain what I feel, the emotions are overwhelming. I just want to go home and celebrate with my family.”

In the Women’s Division, Australian surfing superstar and 2002 ISA Gold Medalist Chelsea Hedges dropped the highest-heat score of the final with a blistering performance on the rippable lefts to the tune of a 17-point combined heat total. In second place stood New Zealand’s Paige Hareb and in third was Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich with France’s Pauline Ado rounding out the final.

A reflection of more than just progressive surfing, the ISA World Surfing Games also included a longboarding division, which was swept with the effortless poise and grace of Brazil’s Rodrigo Sphyer, who took down Australians Josh Constable and Harley Ingleby, and Peruvian Benoit Clemente in the final.

The team results were kept extremely secret until the awards ceremony at the other end of the beautiful sweep of the bay. With such a tight race where only a few points separated the last heats, a tense crowd of fifteen hundred mostly Peruvian fans waited to hear the results from the podium. Once the standings were announced the crowd exploded.

“Peru! Peru! Peru!” was the deafening cry as the Peruvian National Team danced and sang, even crying as their national Anthem played.

“I have no words, except that God has blessed Peru,” said Karin Sierralta, the Peruvian event organizer. “I struggled to bring an ISA event here to Peru, and now the team I love are the champions! After so much effort and so much work it feels incredible. To hear my country shouting “CHAMPION!” is the biggest thing in my life. My dream has been made a reality. What I feel inside me, this happiness goes beyond explanation.”

The Closing Ceremony concluded with ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, saying, “This is the moment to say farewell, but I hope to see you again soon. Señoritas and Caballeros have given us incredible waves, and the best surfers of the world came to enjoy them.

It is important that we all know that surfing may have originated in Huanchaco, perhaps in Hawaii, in Polynesia, - we do not know where it originated, but the most important thing of all is that these people left us this gift of the sea, which we share every day,” concluded Aguerre.

The Fernando Aguerre ISA World Team Trophy was given to the Peruvian Team by Fernando himself, and they also received the prestigious IOC President’s Trophy, which was presented byEduardo Arena,ISA Founder and first President.

Aguerre added “Today we present to the nations of the world a vision, a unified hope of surfing for a better world. This is what we want to bring to the world and I hope that it can be spread and promoted. Surfing is a great sport in Peru. Finally, I want to congratulate all the countries that attended. ”

In the end there are so many surfers and so few medals. Thirty-one countries, 220 surfers, 250 heats surfed and thousands of waves ridden. It’s been an amazing week here in Peru at the 2010 ISA World Surfing Games, highlighted, of course, by the hometown team’s domination and podium-topping performances. But perhaps more importantly, we’ve seen countries that are home to only a handful of surfers emerge from obscurity and rise to the occasion. We’ve seen longtime powerhouses continue to vie for global supremacy. We’ve seen youngsters stand tall and proud for their country, while grizzled veterans have helped show them the way.

When the parties have slowed, and the celebration is over, we’ll look back at the 2010 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games for the success it was, not just because Peru won the Team Gold, but because of all the various victories that don’t make headlines. Tahiti has a World Champion they can rally behind, South Africa is once again on the rise, and yes, the Peruvians, have demonstrated they are worthy opponents on this most global of stages. So congratulations to everyone, you’ve earned it, and until next year!