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Chloe Calmon and Justin Quintal Win Longboard Classic Galicia, Solidify Rankings Lead
Chloe Calmon and Justin Quintal Win Longboard Classic Galicia, Solidify Rankings Lead
Playa de Pantin, Galicia - Spain is where Chloe Calmon (BRA) and Justin Quintal (USA) won the Longboard Classic Galicia in historic fashion this past weekend, claiming victory in the Final bouts against Honolua Blomfield (HAW) and Kai Sallas (HAW) held in three-to-five foot surf at playa de Pantin.
Stop No. 2 of 4 on the 2019 World Surf League (WSL) Longboard Tour (LT), the Longboard Classic Galicia unfolded over the last four days and witnessed incredible performances by the world's best surfers in testing Galician conditions.
Calmon came to Galicia ranked number one in the world after her win at the Noosa Longboard Open earlier this season and will leave in an even stronger position heading into the inaugural Longboard Classic New York and the back half of the 2019 season, as she continues to vie for a first-ever World Title.
"It's always a really good battle against Honolua, she always pushes me to give my best," Calmon said. "To have a proper tour this year and be able to surf in all these different conditions has been a blessing, it really allows us athletes to show our repertoire. This wave is super fun and it was an awesome place to have a longboarding event."
In the men's Final, Justin Quintal (USA) was on another level and didn't leave opponent Kai Sallas (HAW) any chance as he surfed the preferred peak to a 14.14 heat total while his opponent struggled to put any substantial score on the board.
"It was a slow final at first but this whole contest has been amazing," Quintal said. "Surfing against Kai whom I've looked up to as a grom was amazing. I've had a blast here in Pantin and I'm really looking forward to the next events. With the big event in Taiwan at the end of the year nothing's done but it's good to get those early points and keep the other surfers away from them."
The 2018 runner-up in the World Title race and perennial threat in all sorts of conditions, Sallas with this result will climb up to third on the longboard rankings and keep his chances alive for a potential first world title as well heading into the next two events.