De Morny rebounds to snatch Flags

RYLE de Morny, defeated in the sprint final, responded with an emphatic victory in the Men’s Open Flags on the final day of the General Tire Surf and Pool Lifesaving South Africa National Championships.

Western Province and Fish Hoek’s Nick Notten was again imposing in winning gold in the Men’s Open Board Race. Notten, the 2017 Lifesaving South Africa Male Athlete of the Year, also triumphed in the Men’s Open Iron.

Notten’s form was among the many highlights of Lifesaving South Africa’s consolidated eight-day National Surf and Pool Championships, which included the Masters, the Nippers, the Juniors and Open Seniors. Newton Park hosted the Pool Championship and Port Elizabeth’s King’s Beach again proved a winner as a Surf venue.

More than 2000 athletes competed in 528 Pool and Su rf categories, with the added incentive being selection to the South African National Su rf Lifesaving squad for this year’s World Championships in Australia.

De Morny, forced to settle for second place in the sprint final for a second successive year when losing to Kwazulunatal’s Scottburgh Club Johnathan Rorke, proved that he remains the finest exponent of Flags in this country.

De Morny has for a decade consistently been without comparison in South Africa and he was almost dismissive in his dominance of the Flags, with his False Bay and Western Province club colleague and friend Tarieq Hassiem the next best.

Summerstrand’s local brother duo of Ryan and Greg Lowe took gold in the Men’s Double Ski, with Marine edging Fish Hoek in the Men’s Open Taplin Relay. Marine easily won the Tube Rescue Event and the talented Bianca von Bargen was influential in Marine’s Open Taplin victory.

Among those who excelled at Newton Park’s Pool were Tuks and South African international Johan Lourens (Men’s Open) and Durban’s Surf ’s Amica de Jager in the Girls U14-18 Division.