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Anderson Dominates in New York |
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Written by Annabel Anderson
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Wednesday, 22 August 2012 |
Annabel
Anderson defended her NYC SEA Paddle title in her second attempt at the race on
Friday in the financial capital of New York City in a gruelling 26.5 mile race
around Manhattan Island.
Soo...
Starting
on the West side of Manhattan Island against the cityscape of the financial
district, over 200 paddlers took to the water. Navigating their way up the
Hudson River to just past the George Washington Bridge before turning east into
the Harlem River and winding around the island before tackling the rapids of
Hell’s Gate and finishing under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Heat,
humidity and wind made conditions some of the worst ever faced for the race
with the temperature in the early 30’s. As paddlers passed the half way point
they were greeted by a strong easterly wind and treacherous conditions wind
wind against tide and boat wake making for extreme conditions just to stay
upright.
Anderson
who was lining up for her third major international race in less than a week
was in contention from the gun. With a strong start, she maintained contact
with the front three men. As the race wore on, tactics and what side of the
river to take played a crucial role in the race.
As the
front three approached Roosevelt Island and Hell’s Gate, it was Rob Rojas (2012
ISA Long Distance World Champion) and Anderson who took the left side with the
others taking the rights side.
The left
side paid off with stronger current and sling shotted Rojas and Anderson into
the front.
“Last year
I took the right side of the island and suffered. This year I took the left,
but suffered by not going early enough and fighting strong current and Rob was
able to stretch out in front in better currents.
“When you
get to Hell’s Gate, you have to remember that you still have almost a quarter
of the race left and it’s the last quarter that is the worst. Rapids, swirling
current, commercial boats, wind, you get it all and you get it when you’re
fatigued and at your worst. By that point all you can think of is making it to
the finish in one piece and hopefully still standing upright.
Rojas held
onto win in 4 hours 17minutes with Anderson 4minutes adrift.
“To race
for the third time in a week, I held up pretty well. Rob is one of the fastest
guys in the world and is as strong as an ox. To finish so close was great.
The NYC
SEA Paddle annually raises close to half a million dollars for Autism Awareness
and the Surfers Environmental Alliance.
For
further results and information visit:
http://www.seapaddlenyc.org
www.annabelanderson.com
www.facebook.com/anderson.annabel
@NZAnnabel
on Twitter
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