Santiago Muniz clinches the men’s Billabong ISA World Surfing Games title
The Men’s final of the Billabong International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games wrapped up at the beach break of Playa Venao in Panama on Saturday, July 2nd. After a really intense match, it was Argentina’s Santiago Muniz who managed
to prevail in the contest and take home the title for his country.
Australia’s Mick Campbell finished in second place to earn silver, while his compatriot secured the bronze. Brazil’s Ian Gouveia finished at the bottom, but got to take home a copper medal.
The consistent two-to-four waves breaking at the primary event site made the conditions perfect for the final. The entire week had featured amazing performances by some of the best surfers from all around the globe regardless of the tides. Finding the Top
4 facing each other for the title in nice conditions made the surfing fans shiver with excitement.
Muniz had defied all odds to reach to the final stage and asserted his dominance quite early in the heat by catching a wave to earn 8.73 points off it and soon adding an additional 8.27 points to his account, finishing with a heat-total of 17.00. The score
remained unbeatable and allowed him to secure the title.
Talking to a reporter after the results were announced on the loud-speaker, Muniz said, “This is so amazing, I don’t have words to express my feelings right now. I’m so happy, this is a big achievement for Argentina. I’ve trained so hard for this, and now
I will celebrate. My team kept me motivated and with good energy. I love all my family and my dad who really supports me. He is responsible for 90 percent of my performance, because without him and my team, I never would have won.”
Even with such an amazing performance, the Argentinean was not allowed to relax as his opponents landed excellent scores of their own.
Campbell started things off with an 8.00-point wave to relieve some pressure that he was put under by Muniz. However, he needed a 9.00 off his second wave to displace the Argentinean from the top and while the task seemed difficult, it was not impossible
with the good waves on offer. Unfortunately for him and his supporters, he earned 8.77 points off his second wave and ended up 0.23 points short of victory.
Woods’ performance was not shabby either during the final. Staying within the 8-point range, he took third place after finishing with a two-wave total of 16.23 points and got to take home a bronze medal.
Gouveia took his time to find a good score, but the wait was worth it. He locked a wave in the final stages of the heat to earn 8.90 points off it, which was the highest single-wave score in the final. To the disappointment of his supporters, he found himself
falling at the bottom of the ranks after failing to follow his first-wave score with another good score, only managing to add a 6.77 to his account. Consequently, he had to settle for the copper medal.
The outstanding performance by Muniz in the finals would surely him a really warm welcome when he sets foot on his home soil.
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