Hamilton

Posted 6th January 2009

Hamilton takes second at world junior surfing

Five years after surviving a shark attack, Kaua'i's Bethany Hamilton is a runner-up for a world championship.

Hamilton placed second in the women's division of the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships yesterday at Sydney, Australia.

Pauline Ado of France beat Hamilton in a close one-on-one final, 13.43-12.47.

"I'm really happy with my performance at this event," said Hamilton, 18. "To make the final is really good for me. I haven't had a good result in a while, so hopefully this will give me some confidence for the rest of the year."

The contest is considered the world championship for surfers age 20 and younger.

Hamilton made international headlines when her left arm was severed in a shark attack off Kaua'i in October of 2003. She returned to competitive surfing about a year later, and has worked her way up the professional rankings in recent years.

She will compete on the World Qualifying Series in 2009 in an attempt to qualify for the elite Women's World Tour.

In yesterday's final, Hamilton received a score of 7.5 (out of 10) for her opening wave, but could not find a good wave after that. Needing a score of 5.93 in the final minutes, Hamilton fell on her last wave and got a score of 4.97.

"I think my nerves got the better of me in the final," Hamilton said. "I should've made a couple of turns where I fell. I'm kind of bummed about that last wave, but I guess that's surfing."

Ado received $3,500 for the victory; Hamilton received $1,800.

Hamilton is the first Hawai'i surfer to reach the final of the women's division of the World Junior Championships.

The quarterfinals, semifinals and final were all run yesterday in 3- to 4-foot waves at North Narrabeen.

Earlier in the day, Hamilton upset Australia's top seed, Laura Enever. In the semifinals, Hamilton defeated fellow Kaua'i surfer Leila Hurst, 11.5-10.7.

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