| BONAIRE, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES-(17-12-2002) The PWA freestyle finals concluded in spectacular fashion yesterday afternoon after Tonki Frans (Gaastra, AHD) closed out the event with his final move the Chacho in the mens' third round final. The move ensured the King of the Caribbean title for the local sailor in front of his home crowd and celebrations are in order at tonights closing ceremony. Tonki Frans has impressed the judges all week with his smooth seemingly effortless style and the chacho in the final heat of the competition was a fantastic way to close the event.
Matt Pritchard (Gaastra, AHD) will also be in high spirits after clinching the overall PWA Freestyle title after yesterdays performance. Pritchard has fought his was through the season with dedicated passion and came to Bonaire with winning the title as his main mission. Despite a spirited comeback from his prime challenger Ricardo Campello (JP, Neil Pryde) of Venezuela, Pritchard won his way through vital heats yesterday against Konan Lang (Naish) and Nik Baker (Mistral, North) to ensure the championship.
Pritchard also ran away with second place in the King of the Caribbean battle here in Bonaire. The twenty-nine year old Californian sailor did enough to stay ahead of young Douglas Diaz (Fanatic, North) who finished narrowly behind in third.
TONKI FRANS
I am not a great one for speeches. All I can say is thanks to all the sponsors and all the people who put in the hard work to make this event happen!
MATT PRITCHARD
I definitely had a lot of pressure coming here especially when Kevin won the wave title and the Formula worlds. He has been telling me how I have got to keep it in the family name. I have trained very hard for this event. I did everything I possibly could to prepare myself and coming here I knew that I was as ready as I could be, there was not one thing I had missing. I had back up boards and all my sails tuned perfectly. I knew all the young guys were going to be pulling off some pretty sick stuff but what it all comes down to is that six minutes! It is making the moves in those six minutes when the pressure really is on. That’s where I think my consistency really shone through. I was able to pull off the moves when I needed to pull them off.
RICARDO CAMPELLO
The first round here was really bad for me. I don’t know what happened to me. In the other two rounds I did OK. I needed a discard to win the contest here but that was bad luck!
In the women’s title chase it was Karin Jaggi (F2, Arrows) who came out on top after a riveting battle with Colette Guadagnino (JP, Neil Pryde) of Venezuela. After four rounds of intense competition the two sailors were neck and neck and the title chase all boiled down to the final heat of the day yesterday afternoon. In the end it was Jaggi who held her nerve and produced the performance that won the judges' favor.
The level of sailing in the PWA freestyle finals here in Bonaire has literally gone through the roof. Mind boggling tricks and routines largely invented by the younger sailors competing on the PWA tour have brought the standard to a new all time high.
Bonaire is now officially on the map as one of the freestyle capitols of the world! Not only has it delivered amazing conditions but it has also revealed to the world its huge array of home grown talent amongst its youngsters. Tonki and Tati Frans have proved that they are world-class talents and their success here in Bonaire will inspire many of the local kids to follow in their tracks.
KARIN JAGGI
It was a very close competition. I came here early and learned a lot because it was windy before the event. The first two days I completely lost it. I don’t know why really. I think I relaxed after that a little bit. In the end I think I was sailing as good as I could. At the end it was super tight and I was super stoked to win!
COLETTE GUADAGNINO
It has been a great event here. The organization has been great, the water has been warm, it’s been sunny and windy every day you can't ask for more!
FINAL MEN’S RESULTS: KING OF THE CARIBBEAN
1. Tonki Frans (Gaastra, AHD)
2. Matt Pritchard (Gaastra, AHD)
3. Douglas Diaz (Fanatic, North)
4. Ricardo Campello (JP, Neil Pryde)
5. Robby Swift (JP, Neil Pryde)
MEN’S FINAL OVERALL FREESTYLE RANKINGS 2002
1. Matt Pritchard (Gaastra, AHD)
2. Ricardo Campello (JP, Neil Pryde)
3. Nik Baker (Mistral, North)
4. Robby Swift (JP, Neil Pryde)
5. Tonki Frans (Gaastra, AHD)
FINAL WOMEN’S RESULTS: QUEEN OF THE CARIBBEAN
1. Karin Jaggi (F2, Arrows)
2. Colette Guadagnino (JP, Neil Pryde)
3. Tanja Emig (RRD)
4. Julia Duetsch (Naish)
WOMEN’S FINAL OVERALL RANKINGS 2002
1. Karin Jaggi (F2, Arrows)
2. Colette Guadagnino (JP, Neil Pryde)
3. Daida Moreno (Mistral, North)
4. Tanja Emig (RRD)
5. Angela Martinez (Neil Pryde, Naish)
For more photos and information:-
www.bonaireworldfreestyle.com
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