Challengers and youth enjoy solid opening day at Pacasmayo Classic
by International Windsurfing Tour 5 Aug 05:05 UTC
4-17 August, 2024
2024 Pacasmayo Classic © International Windsurfing Tour
Competitors were gifted half-mast to logo high waves for the opening day of the Pacasmayo Classic.
A stand-out of the day was 15 year-old Sarah Kenyon (Australia), who won both the Junior and Pro Junior event against a mixed male and female fleet of five. Showing she's a very exciting future prospect in the waves, Sarah selected waves well and showcased a strong bottom turn, with aggressive snaps in the pocket and an attacking approach to more critical sections. In second place in the Pro Junior and Juniors was 17 year-old Benjamin Perez (Peurto Rico). He started the Pro Junior with a brilliant first wave that scored 6.90, due to a rapid succession of tight snaps in the pocket of a beautiful peeling set wave. But he couldn't quite find the same quality for his back up, whilst Sarah confidently maneuvered and rode consistently well to secure the win with a pair of 5.93s. Exciting the crowd was 19 year-old Pascal Blondet (Peru) who was windsurfing in waves for his second ever time. Whilst he struggled a little to get used to a smaller board in the light winds, once he was on a wave, his surfing prowess took over to finish in third place. The young Noni Stuven (Chile) showed excellent determination to catch some of her best waves and finish in fouth place in Pro Junior and third in Juniors.
Sarah's father, Peter Kenyon (Australia) continued the day one Aussie dominance and was a stand-out in the Challengers. He rode with speed and aggression, making aerials, throwing huge sprays and reading waves with far more expertise than would be expected for a first timer to Peru. Just sneaking into second place and a position in the Pro Men's event was Jose Priewer (Chile), who had a buzzer beater finish to just knock out Luca Salvatore (Italy) by less than half a point.
Philip Newmarch (USA) also put on a seriously impressive performance in the Challengers round. He asserted an early dominance in his round two heat with a classic Pacasmayo set wave that he tore apart with a succession of aggressive, vertical snaps under the lip and in the pocket. After that, the rest of the fleet was just trying to catch up. Peruvian brothers Sebastion and Alvaro Galdos made an exciting comeback to competition after a lengthy break. But Sebastion's critical, powerful turns put him through to second place and secured his spot in the Pro Men's event.
The forecast again looks similar for tomorrow where the event is likely to continue with Pro Men & Pro Women.
Live Scores – Live Heats available here.
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