Costa Rica Sports News – “Gallo viejo con el ala mata”. (Roughly translated: The old rooster can still kill you.) There’s no better expression than this to explain what happened in the 2014 Olympus National Surfing Circuit, which saw the surfer from Limón, Gilbert Brown, crowned champion once again.
The Reef Finals were played out in Playa Hermosa, Jacó ths past weekend, and ended with a dramatic finale of the sort we’re used to with this national tour. Last year, when he had to give up the crown, Brown vowed he would reclaim it.
Sunday decided everything. We had Maykol Torres in the lead, with Brown ranking second, just waiting for some blunder to let him take first place. Just as they got to the semi-final, Torres did fall, and so ended the semi-final.
Surfing is a sport which works partly on ability and partly on fortune; you have to keep hold of your emotions when competing, but there’s also a percentage of luck which gives you the great waves at the time you’re competing.
That’s exactly what happened to Torres yesterday; the waves weren’t on his side and he was left short of the final. Gilbert Brown rubbed his hands together, knowing that the only way to become the champion would be to win the final heat.
It was hardly into the first minute of the heat and the four finalists, Gilbert Brown, Anthony Segura, Luis Vindas and Jason Torres, all caught waves.
The 7.50 that Brown scored left him in a very good position, and it was there that his experience in being decisive came into play more than ever – even more so when it was his national surfing reign on the line.
Moments passed and Gilbert awaited the second wave that would take him into first place; it happened and the second wave came in at 7.00, giving a combined total of 14.50.
Maykol Torres won three of the eight competitions in the 2014 Olympus National Surfing Circuit . It was a big year for learning for those from Esterillos Oeste who recognized that Gilbert Brown’s triumph was well-deserved.
“Even though I lost the title, I still feel like a winner. I want to congratulate Gilbert because he’s a great surfer, who we can all learn from – everyone knows how much experience he’s got”, said the national runner-up.
The key to Brown’s title comes from always rising up the podiums, and even if you don’t win the competitions, you still rack up important points. This system gave him the leadership of the ranking and made him the winner with just 248 points.
In the Women’s Open competition, Lisbeth Vindas furthered her surfing legacy with her eleventh title.
The rest of the champions were: Anthony Flores (Longboard), Leilani McGonagle (Women’s Junior), Manuel Mesén (Junior), Sean Forester (Boys), Valentina Resano (Women’s Minigrommets), Dean Vandewalle (Minigrommets).
Translated from La Nacion by Leah Hendre
