Connor Wins 6 out of 6 & Annabel Also Wins Again!

 

SAN FRANCISCO, California - Connor Baxter (Starboard) and Kai Lenny (Naish) once again had a historic clash at the AC Open in San Francisco. Connor won the distance race but Kai secured the win in the sprint racing component, forcing a dramtic tie-breaker to decide the event winner, much to the delight of the crowd.

 

The athletes agreed on a simple course with one buoy turn, giving them an upwind and downwind leg to decide the event title.  A coin toss decided the buoy turn direction and within minutes, they were off.  The race was neck and neck and up until the buoy turn, it was anyone's game, but coming into the buoy Connor just edged ahead and maintained the lead to power through to a well deserved victory at Stop 7 on the 2013 Stand Up World Series.

 

After the final sprint race Connor commented, "I put my game face on and was ready to win. When that horn blew I hit the turbo boost and was out of there. From that moment on I held the lead, which got me that 1st place overall. I was super stoked and honored to be a part of the AC Open and to take the win. It was a fun weekend and great racing."

 

With Connor taking the title at the AC Open in San Francisco that means he has won 6 out of 6 Overall Titles on the Stand Up World Series. What an accomplishment!

 

On the women's side of the event, Annabel Anderson (Starboard) impressed the world on Day 1 in San Francisco by leading the entire fleet through the hardest leg of the Long distance course, going into wind up to the Golden Gate Bridge.  She ended up not only winning the Women's race but finished in 5th place in the men's division - an incredible achievement given the caliber of the athletes that attended the AC Open.

 

However, a new day presented new challenges as the sprint racing got underway, and in the first race, Annabel and Jenny Kalmbach (Naish) got caught up on the first buoy allowing Jenny to break away and maintain the lead to win race one of three for the Women's Division.  Race two saw Annabel take the win, and then in Race three, another buoy pile up happened on buoy 2.   This mishap allowed Halie Harrison (Focus SUP) break away to take the lead. However, Annabel and Jenny both recovered quickly and caught up by the 3rd buoy and then took the lead by the 4th. In the end, Annabel once again proved victorious and won both the long distance and sprint racing to make it a clean sweep at Stop 7 of the 2013 Stand Up World Series.

 

For Information about the Stand UP World Series click here: Waterman League / SUP World Series

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