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NSW athletes have brought home the most gold medals of any state at the 2023 Australian Surf Life Saving Youth Championships, following an exciting two days in Scarborough, Western Australia.

Indeed, NSW tally of 33 gold medals from 14 competing clubs nearly doubled that of the next closest state, Queensland, who earned 17 gold medals through athletes competing from five different clubs.

It was a banner weekend for the mighty blues led by familiar names who showed great promise and even greater raw talent at the 2023 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships just four weeks ago.

North Curl Curl SLSC’s Luke Higgs was the standout performer of the Championships, winning four gold medals and leading all comers ahead of a pack of seven who all won three.

He backed up his win at state level in the U15 Male Iron with a win in the same category, while he turned a state bronze medal to an Australian gold in the U15 Male Surf Race, beating both Cronulla SLSC’s Jackson Turner and Newport SLSC’s Noah Maggs, who finished first and second at State Champs, respectively, in the process.

Luke would also win gold in the U15 Male 2km Ocean Swim and alongside Sam Chaffer, Sam Davis, and William Jeffrey in the U14 & U15 Male Surf Teams.

Pipi Te Pania’s win in the U15 Female Iron made it a clean sweep for the Northern Beaches club in the age category, while she also earned gold medals in the U15 Female Board and U14 & U15 Female Board Relay with Zara Kasprowicz and Jaya Lilienthal.

Wanda SLSC, too, had a successful weekend with six gold medals – Kyle Mason and Dane Sutton dominating as a duo and individually to grab three gold each.

The pair would team up to win the U14 & U15 Male 2 x 1km Beach Run Relay and the U14 & U15 Male Cameron Relay, while Dane would win the U14 & U15 Male Board Rescue with Otis Jessop and Kyle would go again on the long-distance beach run and win the U15 Male 2km.

Elsewhere, Hunter clubs Swansea-Belmont SLSC and Cooks Hill SLSC earned great results in the Board team events, eventually bringing home three gold medals each, while North Cronulla SLSC’s strong beach program bore fruit once again with Kaitlyn Williams winning the U14 Female Beach Flags ahead of clubmate Kayla Pryde.

Isabella Evans, of Wollongong City SLSC, who Kaitlyn pipped to the gold medal at the NSW Championships, would finish fourth in the Flags before winning the U14 Female Beach Sprint, just as she did at State level ahead of her North Cronulla counterpart.

Gerringong SLSC’s Miller Siasat, won the U14 Male Sprint and Flags, reaffirming his place as a near unbeatable weapon on the sand.

The Australian Surf Life Saving Championships continues this week with the Masters Championships today and tomorrow (Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 March) before the Open Championships begins on Wednesday 29 March.

Monday 27 March 2023

U14 BR Swansea Belmont 50Z_9982
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U14 Girls Board Winner Newport 1
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