After 2 dramatic City stops in Hamburg and Chicago, the Stand Up World Series headed to San Francisco on August 31-Sept.1st for stop #7, the AC Open.
On Day 1, Kai took the lead early on in the grueling 6.5 mile distance race and held it for most of the race, at one point opening up a 16 second gap on his main rival. It was during the final upwind portion of the course where competitors stepped up their game and Kai finished just seconds after 1st place. Jenny Kalmbach proved herself to be a real threat as well, coming in 2nd closely behind the seemingly unbeatable Annabel Anderson. Kody Kerbox also put on a great performance with a 5th place finish.
Watch highlights from the Distance race here: http://youtu.be/iOzR70u0wbc
On Day 2’s sprint races, Kai put on an impressive performance, securing the win as he broke away from the pack right off the line as his rivals got caught up in the cluster of paddlers battling behind him. Having put every shred of energy into the Final, Kai then faced up against Connor one last time for a dramatic tie-breaker and had to settle for 2nd in the event, but both athletes sharing the points towards the overall World Title.
With a 2nd place finish in the sprints, coupled with her 2nd place in the long distance, this solidified Jenny Kalmbach’s 2nd place overall for the event, but perhaps more importantly, she proved that she has what it takes to take the victory and will clearly be a name to watch out for going forward.
Kody Kerbox powered ahead on the last buoy turn in the sprint finals to take 4th place, earning him a well deserved 5th place overall for the event. Another great result for Kody who has clearly only just begun to show what he is capable of.
Amazing job to all of our Naish riders who sliced through the competition on their Naish Javelin 12’6” LE’s!
Photos courtesy of The Waterman League
