Whatshot
SA's Steven Sawyer Takes Runner-up in World Longboard Tour Event
SA's Steven Sawyer Takes Runner-up in World Longboard Tour Event
South Africa's Steve Sawyer, from Jeffreys Bay, finished runner-up in the Noosa Longboard Open, the first of four events on the World Surf League (WSL) Longboard Tour that decide the annual world longboard champions in the revamped format introduced this year.
Sawyer, the top seed and reigning WSL longboard champion after winning the one-off title decider in Taiwan in December, was elated to contest the final against Justin Quintal (USA) and is looking forward to travelling to venues he has not previously visited to defend his crown this year.
"I love competing so much it's in my blood," Sawyer said. The surfer-musician, who grew up riding the long walls of Jeffreys Bay and has won internationally rated events on both short and longboards, cut a swathe through the world's best riders of surfboards that are a minimum of 2.8 metres in length and have single fins.
Sawyer eliminated two-time world champ Phil Rajzman (BRA) with a last minute ride in their Round 5 encounter, convincingly outpointed 2006 world champ and four-time Noosa event winner Josh Constable (AUS) in their quarter-final clash and defeated three-time world champ Taylor Jensen (USA) in their semi-final duel to reach the final.
In his first WSL event in almost five years, Floridian Quintal surfed through eight rounds and posted excellent scores all the way, he found a long walling left and rode it perfectly, combining drop knee cut-backs with some long hang-tens through the critical sections to take the lead and clinch victory.
Sawyer's compatriots Sam Christianson (Durban) and Dylan Macleod (Port Elizabeth) were both eliminated in their opening heats with Christianson finishing equal 33rd and Macleod equal 57th overall.