Men Complete 24 Rounds of Main Event, Set Tone for Week to Come
The 2015 Nicaragua Unica… Original ISA World Surfing Games presented by Lafise and Claro got off to an impressive start on the event’s Opening Day.
The Men opened the event and gave the crowd a dose of what is to come, by performing critical maneuvers throughout all 24 heats of the Main Event.
As predicted by Surfline, the official forecaster of the event, the ocean offered consistent chest to head high sets throughout the day allowing the competitors to display their world-class talent. The conditions were clean as Nicaragua’s infamous offshore winds blew lightly from dawn until dusk.
“The first round was absolutely amazing! A south swell and perfect offshore wind made for a great opening day,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Seeing all the athletes on the beach cheering and surfing in the name of their countries was really special. The sportsmanship and team camaraderie is truly a unique feeling that only an ISA World Championship provides. I look forward to seeing athletes perform when the solid and larger swell arrives to Nicaragua in the middle of the week.”
Throughout the high performance surfing of competition it was Peru’s Sebastian Correa and USA’s Ian Crane that stood out.
Sebastian Correa, put on a powerful performance in his heat, which earned him the highest total of the day with 16.16. Member of Team Peru, the defending World Champion Team, advanced to the next round with a comfortable 8-point lead. Correa is one step closer to the Final and potentially a Gold Medal.
The other top performer of the day was Ian Crane, who earned the second highest total heat score with a 15.40, defeating Australia’s Dylan Hayllar (11.90), Mexico’s Dylan Southworth (11.57) and Scotland’s Ali Matheson (6.57).
Notably, Japan’s Riki Horikoshi, who is competing in his second ISA World Championship in the past two weeks, advanced through the second heat of the day with a score of 11.26. Horikoshi recently represented Japan as a SUP Surfer in the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in Sayulita, Mexico.
Due to the unique format of ISA World Championships, no one has been eliminated yet from the competition. Those that received 3rd and 4th in their heats will fall to the Repechage Round where they have a second chance to compete. However, a Repechage loss leads to elimination. Those that received 1st and 2nd continued to advance through the Main Event.
Video highlights of yesterday’s Opening Ceremony is available at www.isawsg.com.
Tuesday’s live webcast of the second day of competition will begin at 7:45am local time. Prior to the start of the first round of the Women’s Main Event will be the Morning Show hosted by Mike Latronic featuring host team Nicaragua.
Tuesday, 7:45am Playa Popoyo, Nicaragua
Tuesday, 6:45am Los Angeles, USA
Tuesday, 10:45am Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tuesday, 3:45pm Paris, France
Tuesday, 11:45pm Sydney, Australia
Tune into the live webcast here – http://isawsg.com/live/
