WAIS paddlers starred at the Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships in Kurrawa last week.
Reece Baker (Marmion) and Brendon Sarson (Karrinyup), paddling for Trigg Surf Lifesaving Club were the standout performers in the open double surf ski event recording a dominant and confident win, with the next best crew over a wave behind.
This form continued for the duo, who along with Brodie Holmes (Sorrento) were very unlucky not to win the open surf ski relay event. With Baker paddling a scintillating second leg, Sarson took off for the final leg with a comfortable lead. However, a large surf and tricky conditions slowed Sarson’s progress which allowed several teams to catch the leader on the way out. Coming in Sarson had regained the lead only to lose control of his craft, coming in on a wave meaning he had to swim the last 10 – 20 metres allowing Tugun Surf Club containing Olympic Gold medallist Ken Wallace to sneak past and take the win in an exciting event.
Sarson capped off his weekend as the best overall surf ski paddler at the Championships with a photo finish for first place in the Open Single Surf Ski. Starting the heats with over 350 paddlers the top 16 paddlers got away in the final with Sarson alongside Avoca’s Lachie Tame and Reece Baker getting the best start. Baker who was on the opposite side of the field, established an early lead only to lose his chance when a large wave landed on his lap effectively putting him out of contention. Sarson and Tame negotiated the break and became involved with a two man tug of war for the remainder of the race. Coming in on the same wave it was impossible to separate them on the line; however, the photo finish gave it to Tame.
Sarson said after the event, “It was a great feeling to medal in all three ski events and to win medals with my fellow WAIS and club mates was all the more satisfying.”
