Knox, Beschen Lead U.S. to Victory

Taylor Knox proved to be the winning edge Sunday as the United States won the World Surfing Games title in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000 on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

Knox, of Carlsbad, was joined by San Clemente’s Shane Beschen as the two U.S. surfers took on Australia’s Todd Prestage and Victor Ribas of Brazil in the championship heat.

Each man’s performance would determine the outcome of their country’s finish.

For the United States, the job seemed less daunting because Beschen and Knox are among the world’s top professional surfers and each have been surfing well.

Although Beschen was the favorite going in, Knox took command in the last half of the 20-minute heat, scoring the only 10. He then followed with a 7.33 and a 7.93. Beschen had difficulty with his wave selections and struggled to catch a high-scoring wave.

Knox’s perfect score came after performing three vertical maneuvers that connected to the inside, where he then went fast down the line and he caught the lip, finishing with a floater. He scored 31.43 points for the heat. Ribas took second (27.67), followed by Prestage (26.77) and Beschen (26.07).

The men’s final heat was particularly frustrating because the surf died at the start of it and didn’t pick up until the last half.

“We were laughing out there,” Knox said, in reference to the flat conditions. “But it feels good to win for myself and my country, especially since the last time I scored a perfect 10 I lost the heat.”

The U.S. team finished with 33,626 points, followed by Brazil (29,894), Australia (28,970), Hawaii (25,037), South Africa (24,690) and France (23,995).

The last time the United States won a World Surfing Games title was in 1986 in England. But for the U.S. team, this victory was more special because in the last few months the team had been criticized for having too many young amateurs on the squad.

“I think we made our statement,” said U.S. Coach Brian Walker of Florida. “Some of our young kids pulled some big upsets in the junior and men’s rounds during the week. So I think it’s fair to say we were giving a preview of the next world champions.”

Although Knox’s performance sealed the U.S. team’s victory, there were some other key wins earlier in the day that were instrumental in the outcome.

In the junior championship heat, Ben Bourgeois of North Carolina won the event with 29.34 points. Australian Taj Burrow took second, followed by Damien Hobgood. Australian Troy Brooks was fourth.

In longboarding, Geoff Moysa of San Clemente continued his flawless surfing into the final round.

Moysa, who has been putting off turning professional the last two years so he could compete in the World Surfing Games (each nation is allowed only two pros per team), was elated with his 31.94 victory.

“I had some trouble sleeping last night,” Moysa said. “But I’m so proud of this win. And now, I can finally turn professional.”

In the women’s finals, Neridah Falconer of Australia held off Brazilians Tita Tavares and Jacqueline Silva to win the event with 28.23 points.

Guilherme Tamega of Brazil won the men’s bodyboard event with 31.66 points and his team counterpart Daniela Freitas took the women’s event with 25.77 points.

WORLD SURFING GAMES

Finals at Huntington Beach

MEN’S OPEN

1. Taylor Knox (United States), 31.43; 2. Victor Ribas (Brazil), 27.67; Todd Prestage (Australia), 26.77; 4. Shane Beschen (U.S.), 26.07.

WOMEN’S OPEN

1. Neridah Falconer (Australia), 298.23; 2. Tita Tavares (Brazil), 18.99; 3. Jacqueline Silva (Brazil), 15.76; 4. Melanie Bartels (U.S.), 12.17.

JUNIORS

1. Ben Bourgeois (U.S.), 29.34; 2. Taj Burrow (Australia), 26.29; 3. Damien Hobgood (U.S.), 25.72; 4. Troy Brooks (Australia), 21.09.

LONGBOARDING

1. Geoff Moysa (U.S.), 31.94; 2. Jason Blewiit (Australia), 28.73; 3. Marcelo Freitas (Brazil), 21.41; 4. Alexis Gazzo (France), 21.34.

MEN’S BODYBOARDING

1. Guilherme Tamega (Brazil), 31.66; 2. Neil Stephenson (South Africa), 29.76; 3. Steve McKenzie (Australia), 21.80; 4. Luis Benitez (Puerto Rico), 19.67.

WOMEN’S BODYBOARDING

1. Daniela Freitas (Brazil), 25.77; 2. Dora Gomes (Portugal), 21.66; 3. Mady Slater (U.S.), 17.71; 4. Aoi Koike (Japan), 14.37.

KNEEBOARDING

1. Gigs Celliers (South Africa), 24.67; 2. Craig Ashdown (Australia), 24.36; 3. David Shinbarn (U.S.), 17.36; 4. Sergio Peixe (Brazil), 17.27.