Dein erstes Forum » Numbers chased him. Bitumen wa

For an island state considered to be the home of surfing, Hawaii has had to wait some time for its next mens world champion.Twelve years to be exact.Not since the late Andy Irons won the title in 2004 have Hawaiians had a mens championship to celebrate.Since then the power has been shifted to Australia and the USA, before Brazil could claim to be the new leaders of the sport as Gabriel Medina and Adriano de Souza won the last two titles.However when 24-year-old John John Florence took out the World Surf League event in Portugal on Tuesday, power returned to the sports spiritual home.Growing up less than a kilometre from the Banzai Pipeline where Irons returned triumphant in 2004, Florence developed the skills that this year made him world champion there on one of the toughest breaks in the world.Estranged from his father at a young age, he and his younger brothers were raised not only by his surfing mum Alex, but hordes of hopefuls who rented space on the floor of the family home as they took on the Hawaiian north shore.Florence claims to have been put on his first board at six months, and spent most his childhood riding the famed break with the tenants of his familys home before the big guns came to town every winter.It inspired me, he once told Free Surf Magazine.Growing up and being able to see those guys surf Pipe and seeing the best surfers in the world come and surf my home breaks every day for the whole winter.By six he had his first sponsorship, and at 13 he became the youngest person to compete in the Triple Crown of Surfing, prompting experts to label him the next Kelly Slater.From there though, progress was slow.He debuted on the world tour in 2011 and claimed his first event win in Rio in 2012 and until this year he had added just one other at France in 2014.After finishing 2015 in 14th position, 2016 appeared to be headed in the same direction when he reached the quarters in just one of the three season-opening Australian legs.Since then though, he has been Mr Consistent.Despite Portugals victory being just his second event win of the year, he has reached at least the semi-finals in five of his last seven events - including another win in Rio.He showed his championship qualities in France, taking to the water less than two weeks after he tore ligaments in his knee in the Fiji final - desperate to ensure he didnt let his best shot at a title slip.On Tuesday that paid off in spades, claiming the title in Portugal and in turn, becoming the first man to clinch the championship before the season-ending Pipeline Masters since Slater in 2011.And its there he will return come December, a far cry from a six-month-old on a board but perhaps ready to inspire the next batch of Hawaiian champions. 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LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Brandon Nimmo Mets Jersey . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- It wasnt that Bitumen won Saturdays Grade 3 Sanford Stakes, but more how he won the $150,000 stakes for 2-year-olds at Saratoga that has his connections excited about the future.After dueling on the lead to win his debut, Bitumen was 6-1/2 lengths off the pace after the opening quarter of the Sanford. But under a busy Javier Castellano, Bitumen made a move into contention around the far turn and then responded when asked to run four-wide in the stretch to rally and win the Sanford by 1-3/4 lengths.Random Walk, part of a three-play speed duel, finished second by three lengths over Zartera. Bronson, who had all kinds of trouble in the race, and Bay Numbers completed the order of finish.The win gave trainer Eddie Kenneally his first graded stakes victory at Saratoga in his 24th attempt.He ran a huge race, got a great education today because he was in behind and took so much dirt, said Kenneally, who trains Bitumen for owner Joseph Sutton.He overcame that and just showed how much class he has; just a really, really nice horse and he galloped out good. I think going forward the distance of these races is going to get longer and I think thats what he s going to be better at.Bitumen had the outside post in the five-horse field. He was bumped after Random Walk broke outward, pushing Bay Numberrs into Bronson and Bronson into Bitumen.ddddddddddddartera, breaking from the rail, spurted out to the lead while Random Walk and Big Numbers chased him. Bitumen was in fourth, 6-1/2 lengths off the pace.We had a little bump, he lost his momentum right there, and I had to go to Plan B because my plan was to put him into the race really close to the pace, said Castellano, who also said Bitumen didnt care for the dirt in his face.Zartera, Random Walk, and Bay Numbers were heads apart through a half-mile in 45.79, with Bitumen in fourth. Castellano was really asking Bitumen around the turn, he spun four to five wide in the stretch, and then set sail after Random Walk, who had put away the other speed.Bitumen caught Random Walk inside the eighth-pole and drew clear late.Bitumen, a son of Mineshaft, covered six furlongs in1 :10.68 and returned $3.90 as the odds-on favorite.He broke okay, got outsprinted, and dirt hit him in the face and he didnt care for that, Kenneally said. Then he found himself way farther back than I ever thought he would be, but thankfully he was able to overcome that. Hes got a lot of class.Kenneally said Bitumen would be pointed to the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 5. ' ' '