This
was the last Stop of a hectic global tour for the World's best
Waterskiers and Wakeboard Riders. Following the start of the
ambitious adventure which began in France six months ago, the
battle for World Cup titles continued through Russia, Great
Britain, China, Singapore and now Doha on the Arabian Gulf in
Qatar.
Special challenges faced the International Waterski Federation
on this occasion. The Jump Ramp was transported from the USA.
MasterCraft, the official towboat sponsors, shipped three competition
boats from the U.K. Officials from Great Britain, Germany and
Italy took responsibility for setting up the competition courses
- and the Qatar Marine Sport Federation took charge of the detailed
local organization. Athletes from eleven countries filled the
starting lists.
In conjunction with this major logistical challenge, Qatar's
Academy of Sports Excellence, known as ASPIRE, provided Waterski
lessons for 180 Qatari children with the assistance of the multiple
World Waterski Champion, Patrice Martin (FRA).
In glorious sunshine along the seven kilometer paved Corniche,
the Preliminary rounds of the Waterski and Wakeboard Finals
reduced the total field of athletes to eight in each discipline.
The big surprise in Slalom was Britain's Glen Campbell narrowly
missing the qualifying mark. In Tricks, New Zealander Kyle Eade
was unlucky to fall short of the cut-off point. Time constraints
gave all nine Jumpers a pass to the Finals. In Wakeboard, the
very best in the World made it through. These included the newly
crowned World Champion, 15 year old Phillip Soven (USA) and
current World Cup leader, Daniel Watkins (AUS). This was Watkins'
31st competition of the year !
With a gentle cooling breeze blowing through the tall palm trees,
the Slalom Skiers were the first finalists to compete against
a spectacular backdrop of exotic high rise buildings. The favorite,
Chris Parrish (USA), fought hard to gain 5th place. However,
he still hoped that he would have enough points accumulated
to take the World Cup title. The anticipation of final calculations
was almost unbearable for him. Close on his heels throughout
the year was Britain's Jodi Fisher. Today was Fisher's day and
his score of 5 buoys on the short 10.75m rope was enough to
give him first place for this Doha World Cup Stop.
In Tricks, it was a case of the World Champion, Jimmy Siemers
(USA), battling against the World Cup accumulated points leader
Russell Gay (USA) and the World Record holder, Nicolas LeForestier
(FRA). After a performance glitch in choppy waters in China,
the French man had a point to prove here in Qatar. Three athletes
clocked up scores exceeding 10,000 points but LeForestier's
score of 10,820 was unbeatable - and this also gave him the
Doha World Cup Stop title.
In Jump, there were many surprises. Few Jumpers had ever performed
on sea water before and the Arabian Gulf offered some special
challenges. Austria's Thomas Fenzl and New Zealand's Kyle Eade
took second and third place against very tough competition.
Just two weeks ago, Canada's Jaret Llewellyn set a new pending
World Jump Record and he was now determined to finish his year
on a high note. True to form, his 57.5m / 189ft distance was
enough to take the Doha Jump title back to Canada.
In Wakeboard, a similar pattern emerged. The recently crowned
15 year old World Wakeboard Champion, Phillip Soven (USA) ,
rose to the top once again with a magnificent performance as
the sun set below the palm trees in the nearby desert just beyond
the exotic coastal skyline. His 61.23 points score, based on
his exceptional intensity factor, made him unbeatable. Very
close behind in second and third place were Brett Eisenhower
(AUS) and Morgan Krause (RSA). On this occasion, the World Cup
leader, Daniel Watkins ( AUS), had to settle for 4th place.
The President of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF),
Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor-al-Thani, assisted by QMSF General Secretary
Sami Abu Shaikha, and Kuno Ritschard, President of the International
Waterski Federation, presented the winners prizes on the Doha
Corniche as the sun set over the blue waters of the Arabian
Gulf.
CONTACT : Des Burke-Kennedy,
Media Chairman, International Waterski Federation
For Sponsorship opportunities, contact marketing@iwsf.com
|
|
Full
results
and photo's
to follow |
|