Paris SUP Open Sprint Racing: High Intesity Format Demands Athletes Sharpen Skills and Level Up Performance for Indoor Pool
December 8th, 2018 Paris, France
In a day of fiery sprint races hosted in a brand new format, the APP World Tour announced it’s presence in Paris, France amidst – literally – flaming controversy and a French insurgency.
President Marcon preempted the Yellow Jacket protests this past weekend by shutting down the Eiffel Tower and other historic landmarks.Shop keepers along Champs Elysee, a popular retail and bistro setting, boarded up their shops in order to protect against potential riots. The news media foretold chaos.
The APP World Tour decided to go for it.
The Salon Nautique Boat Shop in Port de Versaille is well removed from the central Parisian discord and hosts a secure indoor convention center with guard checks at several points. After conferring with APP coordinators and government officials well into the night, the Boat Show agreed to stay open. The show would go on.
MAN-ON-MAN SPRINT FORMAT UNLEASHES AFTERNOON OF SUP RACING’S FINEST PERFORMANCES AT PARIS SUP OPEN.
The new format called for two athletes at a time to race head to head, starting at opposite ends of the Sprint Pool. Each racer sprints the length of the pool, spins a tight radius turn under the APP arch and criss-crossed back through the middle to do the same lap down the opposite side. A full dog-on-dog sprint up the middle determined each heat’s winner.
The crowd, at close quarters to the action, let their enthusiasm be heard down the aisles of the indoor boat show. The energy built through to the Final Rounds when the cacophony reached a fever pitch to cheer the athletes into the Finish.
MEN’S SPRINT RACES CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONAL BESTS AS COMPETITIVE FIRES BLAZE.
The Men’s Sprint races found a new level of performance in the indoor pool format. During early rounds, Danny Ching brought the crowd to a roar when he set the new standard for heat time with a scorching 51:63 to complete the course.
Rising to the challenge came Denmark’s Casper Steinfath who answered Ching’s call with a fiery 49:18 finish. From then on, spectators were treated to multiple displays of heroic efforts as the blood of competition boiled.
Arthur Arutkin, came into the Paris SUP Open well in the lead for a World Title, looked focused and committed throughout the event. Casper Steinfath, Claudio Nika, Mo Freitas and Connor Baxter all showed massive strength and speed in the contained setting. Young Christian Anderson, Leonard Nika and Bruno Hasulyo also held onto the pack with their time and tempo.
FINAL ROUND: ARUTKIN VS. STEINFATH
Coming into the final round, the field emptied to find Arutkin and Steinfath at opposite ends of the pool. Both racers brought the crowd to a fever pitch as the sprint through the finish left everyone wondering as to who had finished first. Race Director Anthony Vela verified the timing stats and awarded the win to Arutkin by 0.26 hundredths of a second. The roar from the rafters left no doubt that on this day, Paris had found its pride in young Frenchman Arthur Arutkin.
WOMEN’S SPRINT RACES SHOWCASE ATHLETE GRIT AND UNEXPECTED UPSETS TO REVEAL HOTLY CONTESTED RACE FOR WORLD TITLE.
Shae Foudy came into the Paris SUP Open Sprint Races 1,000 points in front of her Infinity teammate Candice Appleby, both women vying for a World Title.
However, young Annie Reickert had other things planned for them. Quietly consistent and stealthily steady in her stroke, Annie advanced through the heats while everyone looked for the drama to unfold between Appleby and Foudy. Terrene Black, Susak Molinero, Yuka Sato and Amandine Chazot all showed fire and contention, battling through the early heats to advance to the Semi-Final Rounds.
Then came the Round: Foudy v Appleby. The crowd watched the two training partners line up on opposite sides of the pool. If Appleby won, she would take the lead in points from Foudy towards a World Title. If Shae won, it would leave the final battle to be on the Seine River the following day.
Race Director Anthony Vela called the start. Both two women shot off the line toward opposite ends of the pool in a heated battle. They were neck and neck, Candice fierce and focused while Foudy determined. Down to the wire, the two shot through the finish and each looked back. Neither knew who had won.
Foudy was awarded the win. Her hold on the World Title still in her hands.
But wait, that was only the Semi Finals.
FINAL ROUND: FOUDY VS. REICKERT
Shae Foudy, fresh off her victory over teammate and mentor, Candice Appleby had little time to savor when they called her to the Women’s Final Round with Annie Reickert. These two young women, the future of the sport of SUP racing, took off from opposite sides of the pool.
Foudy charged out in front, but Reickert steadily answered gaining on Foudy as the girls rounded the first buoy turn and crossed paths in the middle of the pool. It was a showdown to the finish. Race Director verified the win to Maui native Annie Rieckert. Both Shae and Annie met with grins in the middle of the pool for a congratulatory hug. This was real sportsmanship. This is the sport of SUP.
More news on the finale of the Paris SUP Open HERE.
Written by: Evelyn O’Doherty Online Editor / APP World Tour
The APP World Tour is the Professional World Championship Tour for the Sport of Paddlesurfing (also known as SUP / Stand Up Paddling / Paddleboarding), officially sanctioned by the IOC recognized Federation for Surfing Sports, the ISA (International Surfing Association). Re-branded in 2017 as the APP World Tour (previously known as the Stand Up World Tour and Series) the APP has been crowning the sport’s World Champions for both Men & Women across Racing and Surfing since 2010.
The APP World Tour produces a complete inventory of programming, including live and post produced broadcasts from its events, with distribution to over 100 countries worldwide via premier global networks such as CBS Sports and Fox Sports Asia & Australia. More Information is available at www.appworldtour.com and fans can follow events @appworldtour on Facebook & Instagram. For more information on the APP’s City Paddle Festivals please visit www.citypaddlefestivals.com.
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