MANDURAH TURNS IT ON FOR THE INTERNATIONAL WATERSKI & WAKEBOARD WORLD CUP

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Athletes were greeted by a clear, crisp morning in Mandurah today for the   Actions Sports Games as the Men’s Quarter-Finals and the Women’s Semi-Finals got underway.

The day got off to a great start thanks to the Men’s Jump event with World Number One Freddy Krueger (USA) jumping 56.6m and feeling confident about beating his world record jump of 75.2m.

The excitement grew when Freddy Krueger and Ryan Dodd (CAN) were left to battle it out for the last two spots in the Finals, beginning with Dodd scoring the longest jump of the day right at the last minute.

But Krueger proved why he’s World Number One, beating Dodd’s 56.1m jump on his second attempt, securing a spot in the Finals as the favourite.

“I feel like I did a pretty good jump, I had a good game plan today, good execution and I’ll just try and get it better for the finals,” said Krueger.

“Today is about survival and tomorrow is about going for it, I expect the guys to all go more aggressive and get some bigger jumps.”

Competition at the Men’s Jump Semi-Final on Sunday will be fierce with Sharman Damien (GBR) and Ellis Scot (USA) joining Krueger and Dodd as the top qualifying jumpers.

Crowd pleaser and rising star Shota Tezuka (JPN), Seven-Time World Champion Raimi Merritt (USA) and World Number One young gun, Harley Clifford (AUS) all got the crowd going with multiple wakeboard spins and flips, paving the way for action packed Finals rounds tomorrow.

Tezuka showed off his smooth, agile riding style, coming in at 2nd place behind close friend Harley Clifford who wrapped up the Men’s Wakeboard Quarter-Finals when he easily secured himself a place in Sunday’s Finals rounds.

Three-Time World Champion Andrew Adkison (USA) came in at third place, followed closely by Great Britain’s Dan Nott, who will both battle it out for spot on the podium tomorrow.

Merritt dominated the Women’s Wakeboard Semi-Finals by nailing a S-Bend and finishing with a 5 40, landing a high score of 59.45.

“Tomorrow I’m going to have strong competition from Bec Gange and Nicola Butler, so I will definitely have to pull out some new tricks and really step it up,” said Merritt.

Merritt finished well ahead of the other qualifying wakeboards, with second place Carolina Djupsjo (SWE) scoring 45.00 and local wildcard Bec Gange (AUS) coming in at third place with 41.01.

Nicola Butler (GBR) will also put her best tricks on display tomorrow, along with Last Qualifiers Robbie Rendo (ARG) and Chan Lili (CHN).

The Women’s Shortboard Finals are first on the water tomorrow at 8:30am with presentations being awarded to the winners at 4:30pm.

The IWWF has travelled through Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, China, South East Asia and now Australia. Mandurah will be home to the IWWF World Cup for the next three years, making it the first time the event has been held in the same place for four consecutive years.

The   Action Sports Games also coincides with the annual Channel Seven Crab Fest, adding more vibrancy and excitement to the City of Mandurah. The event will also include a BMX and Skateboarding competition as well as Freestyle Motocross demonstrations throughout the weekend.

Tourism Western Australia and the Department of Regional Development of Lands are proud to support the   Action Sports Games Mandurah through the Royalties for Regions – Regional Events Program which is administered by Eventscorp.