Aussie Titles: Boothy, Lincoln, Angie and Karla Earn Victories (and an Invite to the 2018 Worlds)

November 14, 2017

by Christopher Parker (@wheresbossman)

Aussie Titles: Boothy, Lincoln, Angie and Karla Earn Victories (and an Invite to the 2018 Worlds)

Start of the marathon race at the Australian SUP Titles on the Gold Coast (photo: Surfing Australia)

Here’s a brief recap of the Australian SUP Titles that are happening all week on the SUP mecca of the Gold Coast, with a spot on the almighty Team Australia and a place at the 2018 ISA Worlds up for grabs.

Get our rapid fire recaps below, and head over to the official site for more coverage and content.

Wednesday: Beach Race

In brief: Lincoln Dews has taken out the second race of the Aussie Titles on the Gold Coast today, winning the beach race ahead of James Casey and Michael Booth to secure a spot on Team Australia for the fifth time in six years.

It was pretty close between the top three guys all the way, but Linc showed why his runner-up finish at the PPGs beach race was no fluke to add another national title to his collection. Yesterday’s runner-up, Matt Nottage, was kept down in fifth after the unheralded Ty Judson snuck onto the top four podium with a determined effort.

Although the waves weren’t big the run leg certainly was, with a low tide forcing competitors into a brutal chicane run in between each of the three and a half laps.

In the women’s, Karla Gilbert used her surf life saving career to good effect, outmaneuvering Terrene Black to take the win in the small surf.

(Tuesday’s marathon champ, Angie Jackson, sat out today’s beach race due to Surfing Australia’s odd qualifying criteria that forces paddlers, sometimes, to go through their respective state events and sometimes/sometimes not earning a wildcard if they didn’t.)

The team selection isn’t official yet, but I daresay the top two from each race will earn a spot on next year’s squad, which would put Lincoln, Boothy, Jimmy (James Casey), Karla, Angie and Terrene on the provisional roster for the 2018 Worlds (which are rumoured to be heading back to South America in the second half of the year).

Team Australia has won the ISA Worlds five out of six times dating right back to the inaugural event back in 2012. Their only loss was to Team USA at Mexico 2015, however the French have gone mighty close in the past two years and will once again give the Green & Gold plenty of competition in 2018 (the Frenchies held their own national titles just last week).

Men’s Beach Race – Top 5
1st: Lincoln Dews
2nd: James Casey
3rd: Michael Booth
4th: Ty Judson
5th: Matt Nottage

Women’s Beach Race Podium
1st: Karla Gilbert
2nd: Terrene Black
3rd: Olivia Hall
4th: Ke’ale Dorries

Replay of Paul Jackson’s on-the-spot live stream

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Tuesday: Marathon

In brief: Michael Booth has flexed his world-beating muscles to claim another national title, winning today’s marathon race at the Australian SUP Titles on Queensland’s Gold Coast ahead of a small but competitive group who are chasing a spot on Team Australia for the 2018 Worlds.

Matt Nottage (or “Flat Matt” as he’s affectionately been nicknamed) continued his stellar run of form to claim a solid runner-up finish in what was a grueling, largely flat race. Paddlers raced north in the ocean from Rainbow Bay to Currumbin Alley (traditionally a downwind run but painfully flat today), before heading up and down the flat water Currumbin Creek in the second half of the 17km course.

Current Aussie team representative Lincoln Dews was stuck in no man’s land in third place, while Kelly Margetts out-sprinted Beau O’Brian and James Casey at the death to round out the top four podium.

In the over 40s division, Queensland paddling identity Paul “Jonesy” Jones won the bragging rights ahead of Team Australia manager Troy “Peasey” Pease (are you noticing the pattern with Aussie nicknames?).

Lined up for the start of the marathon race at Rainbow Bay (photo: Surfing Australia)

Michael Booth claims his second national title in the marathon race (photo: Surfing Australia)

The margin was much smaller in the women’s marathon, with Angie Jackson overpowering Karla Gilbert in the closing stages to take the win in a time of 1:51:11, which was just 22 seconds ahead of Karla.

Angie held a slight lead after the ocean leg but lost it coming in through the surf at the river entrance, before reeling Karla in and eventually breaking her in the closing stages. Angie has been on Michael Booth’s training program for the past month and already it’s paying dividends.

The racing continues tomorrow with the ‘beach race’ and then wraps up later in the week with the SUP surfing.