Sage Goldsbury (Cape Woolamai, VIC) and George Pittar (North Manly, NSW) have won the Hydralyte Sports QLD Pro Junior presented by Hyundai on the Gold Coast over the weekend in pumping waves at Duranbah Beach. The series will now head to Narrabeen (NSW) in April, followed by Bells Beach (VIC) in September.
Sage Goldsbury has won the women’s division, defeating Ellie Harrison (Barwon Heads, VIC), Raya Campbell (Coolangatta, QLD) and Lily MacDonald (Freshwater, NSW) respectively in an exciting comeback. Harrison and Campbell were going back-to-back stealing the lead from each other for most of the heat, leaving Macdonald and Goldsbury in a difficult position. With only one minute on the clock and requiring a high score, Goldsbury took off on a left-hander performing three powerful turns in the critical sections of the bigger wave – finishing with a creative turn to score a 9.35 (out of a possible 10.00). That wave combined with her 6.25 was enough to give her the win. She dropped her surfboard to the ground in happiness as she heard her score and the final hooter sounded.
“I can’t believe I just won the first Pro Junior comp of the year,” said Goldsbury. “I’ve been working pretty hard behind the scenes lately so I’m pretty stoked. I didn’t have a great start to the final – I managed to get a six and I knew I needed something big. Luckily, a wave came and gave me a last-minute opportunity to do something, so I decided to go nuts – and ended up getting the score and I was so stoked.”
George Pittar has won the men’s division today, defeating Joel Vaughan (Bateau Bay, NSW), Lennox Chell (Avoca, NSW) and Marlon Harrison (Coolangatta, QLD) respectively in the final. Pittar put together an 8.6 and a 7.75 for a combined heat total of 16.35 to take the win over his fellow competitors.
“I had a shocker last year, so I didn’t come into this event with too much confidence,” said Pittar. “But I’ve been training and I’ve got my boards right so I’m ecstatic. I’m so excited that I’m shaking! It was a tough heat out there for sure – there was a lot of water moving and it was hard to know where everyone was. I was lucky enough to snag a couple and get the scores.”
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Photography: © WSL / Surfing QLD / Ben Stagg