Red Bull King of the Air Results - Grand Haven, Michigan MEN: Alex Zavadsky/Damion Leroy | WOMEN: Julie Simsar
HANG TIME WINNER: Tim Blanchard - 7.5 seconds BEST TRICK WINNER: Matt Rutledge - Unhooked deadman to blind The qualifier brought more kiteboarders into one place on Lake Michigan than we have ever seen before. The conditions on Thursday were about 20 knots sideshore the first day, but the competition had to be put on hold due to the unfortunate drowning of a child off a nearby pier. The drowning was unrelated to the competition and the competitors went down to another beach to do some free riding. More pictures from this day and the actual event will follow soon.Friday, no wind...Saturday started with light winds, which increased as the day went on. By the time the finals rolled around, there was plenty of wind for the competitors to put on a good show. It was blowing around 12-15 knots. Alex Zovostky from Mt. Hood, OR and Damien LeRoy tied for first place in the men's division. Damien had already earned a trip to Maui due to his win in the Hatteras qualifier, so Alex received the trip to Maui for this event. Third place in the Men's division went to Matt Meyers from Traverse City, which is just up the road from Grand Haven. James Otis from Holland, MI advanced to the finals as well. Holland is just down the road from Grand Haven. Julie Simsar from Charleston, S.C. won the women's division. Second and third went to Nadina Kaminer and Beth Druri. Nadina and Beth are both from Ontario, Canada. If I'm not mistaken, all three women had just started kiteboarding within the past year. It was really impressive to see them out there! The wind was a bit lighter than expected during two days of the competition, but I think the location and setup for the event was great. We hope to see the qualifier back on the shores of Lake Michigan again for next year |
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