Germans sink w’board rivals
GERMANY unleashed a torrid final-day onslaught in the World Cable Wakeboard Championships with Fédéric von Osten and Sophia Marie Reimers producing golden performances in the open wakeboard competition at the Deca Wake Park in Angeles City, Pampanga.
Making up for a sloppy opening run, von Osten fashioned out a superb 80.33-point effort in Run 2 to top the men’s open division, dethroning hard-luck Nick Davis of Britain.
Reimers also rose to the challenge in Run 2, even as defending champion Kirsteen Mitchell of Britain faltered in her final performance.
The victories of Reimers and von Osten completed a dominant show by Germany in the six-day event.
Germany captured the team gold after collecting 8,700 points in the six-day competition backed by Rixen Cableways, IWWF Wakeboard 2020 Vision, Smart, Gatorade, Deca Homes, Stoked Inc, RipCurl, Monster Energy Drink, Devant LED TV, Bacardi, Department of Tourism Region 3, Aktion Parks, Plus Event Marketing and organized by Eventking Corp.
Britain finished second with 8,049 points while France was third with 6,807.
Also winning a gold medal for Germany was Jan Kissmann, who ruled the Open men’s wakeskate play with 70.67, overcoming Ollie Moore of Britain (66.00) and Mayce Dipple of Austria (61.67) for the title.
Saving his best for last, von Osten executed a series of difficult tricks to earn the judges’ nod. Britain’s Declan Clifford, the leader after the first run, couldn’t sustain his good form and settled for a second-best score of 74.67.
Korean Im San also made his presence felt with a 70.00, giving him the honor of being the first ever Asian rider to land in the medal podium of the world championships.
The Philippines won its lone medal courtesy of Susan Larsson in the Open ladies wakeskate.
Davies, the 2010 champion, and top finalist Dominik Gührs, also of Germany wavered when it mattered. Davies blew his bid with a crash and wound up eighth and last with 29.33 while Gührs finished with a fourth-best 67.33. Reimers used an error-free routine to come up with a 67.33.
