Australian surf life saving: Teenage swim gun, Olympic paddlers star, brothers’ strange result
Paris Olympic hopefuls came out to play, brothers recorded a strange result and a teen and his mentor won an extraordinary gold at the Australian surf life saving champions on Friday.
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Paris Olympics paddling hopefuls came out to play, five sets of brothers recorded a strange result and a teen swim gun and his mentor won an extraordinary open gold at the Australian surf life saving champions on Friday.
While high winds sent club tents flying, the flat conditions at Scarborough beach favoured an array of Paris Olympic kayaking hopefuls who stole the show in the double ski racing.
Rising stars Ella Beere and Natalia Drobot, based on the Gold Coast as part of the Paddle Australias sprint kayak program, won the double ski crown for Avoca Beach from the Newport team of fellow paddlers Jemma Smith and Sascha Taurins. Northcliffe duo Danielle McKenzie and Georgia Laird were third.
“I am just so proud of ourselves,’’ said Drobot, who won the K2 200 with Beere at the Australian sprint kayak titles in Perth a week earlier.
The U19 race was also dominated by kayakers with young gun Chelsea Jentz and clubmate Morgan Trinca winning from highly fancied clubmates and paddling stars Alyssa and Claudia Bailey. Newport’s Analise Kibble and Olivia Clues were third.
He’s still at school but that hasn’t stopped rising ironman star Connor Maggs racing off with an open crown at the Aussies with his mentor.
Maggs and Charlie Brooks combined to claim the prestigious board rescue crown despite racing for the first time together earlier in the day.
“This is such a hard race to win. It’s so special,’’ Brooks said.
“To win it with this 17-year-old is great.’’
Maggs, who got a start in the Nutri-Grain series this season as an injury call-up, described the win as “crazy’’.
“Charlie has taken me under his wing and it’s been awesome,’’ he said.
Surf life saving is generally a family affair but this takes the cake.
In an unusual result at the Australian surf life saving championships in Perth, five sets of brothers - including two sets of twins - finished on the podium in the men’s U19 surf race in Perth.
The winning Northcliffe team boasts twins Jake and Mitch Morris, who moved from Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches, to Queensland to race for the top Gold Coast club.
Their teammates were brothers Kai and Ryley Harland, the cousins of swimmer and pop star Cody Simpson.
The quartet beat brothers Callum and Riley Brennan and twins Nic and Ryan Green from Currumbin.
The Seacliff team from South Australia finished third and boasted brothers Clancy and Harvey Luscombe, Harey Manolopoulos and Ryan Clifford.
In one of the great races of the day the Newport team of Max Brooks, Mitch Trim and Jayke Rees won the single ski relay.
“That was pretty cool,’’ said Brooks.
“That’s something really special. Our mantra at the club is team first and good individuals come out of that.’’
The trio beat Northcliffe B (Jy Duff, Matt Bevilacqua and Sam Norton) with Newport’s (Charlie Brooks, Fletcher Armstrong and Maguire Reid) third.
The Redhead girls under 17 board relay team also raced off with a sensational victory in their battle for gold.
The team of Charlie Burns, Lani Waller and Tully Elliott beat the fancied outfit from Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park (Charlotte Hart, Chelsea Wood, Jasmine Rayward) with Mordialloc (Jemma Holt, Mia Cook and Paige Holt) claiming the bronze.
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