Kai Lenny & Candice Appleby win World Series sprint event in Japan.

2015 Stand up World Series 
Hayama Harbor, Japan
4 – 5 September, 2015

Victoria Cup Hayama Pro / Japan – 2nd stop on the 2015 Stand up World Series 

Surf News Network, 7 September, 2015 – Huge congratulations to Kai Lenny & Candice Appleby who win the Sprint discipline on Day 2 of the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro in Japan. Kai Lenny (Naish) & Candice Appleby (Infinity) took the Sprint wins meaning they are crowned the 2015 Japanese Champions.

Men:

In a dramatic Final heat, Kai Lenny (Naish) digs deep and resets himself mid way to find a window of opportunity rounding the final buoy, out of which he accelerated to move into second past the World Rankings leader Connor Baxter (Starboard), then past Casper to take first in this final day of action. A win in today’s sprints, combined with his second place finish yesterday secured the 2x World Champion the coveted Overall Event Title at the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro in Japan, the second stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Series.

Kai’s win today moves him into the Top spot alongside Connor Baxter, with a win a piece at the mid way point of the 2015 season. This means that the Title Race is intensifying massively going into the next stop at Surf City USA later this month. Make sure to stay tuned for the build up to the next stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Series taking place at the US Open of Stand Up Paddling on the 2nd – 4th October

Finishing in 2nd in today’s sprint racing was the recently crowned European Champion, Casper Steinfath (Naish), putting on an impressive performance amid the World Class line up. Celebrating his birthday here in Japan, the Viking was able to dig deep when it counted, making his move along with Kai Lenny (Naish), by taking the inside line on the final buoy to take the lead coming into the home stretch.

While Kai was able to overtake, Casper once again showed how dangerous he is on the World Series, particularly in the sprint racing, securing 3rd overall for the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro here in Japan and propelling him to 4th overall in the Overall World Rankings at the year’s midway point.

After that epic final battle of the day, Connor Baxter (Starboard) was forced to settle for 3rd in the sprints and 2nd overall for the event, a result that keeps him in the top spot, but forces him to share it with arch rival Kai Lenny (Naish) coming into the next stop in Surf City USA, the US Open of Stand Up Paddling.

Connor had a great start in the final, battling for the lead with Casper Steinfath who led around the first buoy and into the second. However, Connor was able to get a great line around the inside buoy, pushing Casper wide and allowing him to take the lead, a lead that he would keep until the final buoy, as the two Naish team mates were able to pass underneath him and maintain the advantage through to the finish line.

Despite the disappointment of not taking the win in today’s sprint racing, Connor is still in the top spot and the battle will pick back up once again in just a few weeks time at the US Open of Stand Up Paddling in Huntington Beach.

Here are the final results from today’s sprint racing together with the overall results from the 2nd stop on the 2015 Stand up World Series, the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro in Japan:

1- Kai Lenny
2- Connor Baxter
3- Casper Steinfath
4- Athur Aruktin
Women:

Candice Appleby (Infinity) continues her dominant roll on this year’s Stand up World Series notching up another win in today’s Sprint Racing, which combined with her win in the long distance yesterday secures her the Overall Event win at the 2015 Victoria Cup Hayama Pro Japan. Candice approached each of her heats methodically, taking the lead early and maintaining it through the finish to take the sprint racing win ahead of a stiff field of competition.

Coming into the next event in Surf City USA later this month Candice is looking in a solid position with just one more win required for her to secure the World Title in 2015. However, it will not be an easy road, as the World’s best will be on hand and all vying to take down the yellow jersey at the next dramatic stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Championship Series. Make sure to check out the highlights and stay tuned for the build up to the US Open of Stand Up Paddling

Manca Notar (Naish) stepped up in today’s sprint racing, with her eyes on the prize and determined to challenge Candice Appleby (Infinity) for the top spot. While she wasn’t able to catch Candice, she did manage to secure a close second in the sprint racing and get the edge on the 2nd place finisher for yesterday’s sprint racing, Fiona Wylde (Starboard) to move up into 2nd place overall at this all important 2nd stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Series.

With a 3rd place in Barcelona and now a 2nd place here in Japan, Manca is setting herself up for a solid overall finish for the 2015 season and establishing herself as one of the names to beat. Make sure to check out the highlights and stay tuned for the build up to the next stop in Huntington Beach

Fiona Wylde (Starboard) put on a valiant performance in today’s sprint racing, battling with Angela Jackson from Australia right up until the beach, where she stumbled, unfortunately for Fiona, letting Angela slip ahead of her to secure 3rd place in today’s racing. This meant that Fiona had to settle for 4th, which combined with her 2nd place finish from yesterday’s long distance left her in 3rd place overall for the event.

While this is still an impressive result and a podium finish, Fiona is hungry for results and strong finishes, and this will only fuel her further coming into the next event in Huntington later this month. Here are the Overall and Sprint Results from the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro in Japan, stop 2 of the 2015 Stand up World Series:

1- Candice Appleby
2- Manca Notar
3- Fiona Wilde
4- Angela Jackson
5- Celine Guesdon
6- Yokoyama Tayako
7- Horikoshi Yuka