Sanyo Bussan 2008, Round 1......GO!!!

The Sanyo Bussan International Lifesaving Cup 2008

After a whirlwind trip into Japan, and getting settled into the hotel – a circa 1975 resort-style hotel with traditional Japanese living arrangements in the rooms – Team USA started to buckle down for what would be an amazing competition with five other teams from four other countries. Host country, Japan, entered two teams into the one day contest: their National Team, and their Under 22 years old B Team. Australia brought a strong contingent, as always, in the form of a U-21 High Performance Development Squad; Do not be fooled by the U-21 label, members included Elizbeth Pluimers, 2008 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series Champion, and Jacob Lollback, 2007 Coolangatta Gold U19 Champion. South Africa and Great Britain followed suit in bringing young, but very strong contingents. Both Great Britain and the two Japan teams were in top racing form as both fellow Northern Hemisphere countries were still training for their respective upcoming National Lifesaving Championships.

Team USA got to work on Friday (9/5) morning at Onjuku Beach. Training sessions kicked off with a bang when half the team, while dolphining out, got hit by jellyfish. The sharp sting, not dissimilar to that of a blue bottle, instantly brought our heads out of the water as we made our way out to sea. After the initial shock wore off, we continued our “acclimation session” with some wading drills, rescue race and board-rescue run-throughs, and swim and board starts & finishes. Surf was miniscule by any standard – 1ft and inconsistent.

After a light lunch some of the team ventured off into town to have a look around.
The townspeople in Onjuku were very welcoming to their language-challenged guests – one elderly woman actually invited the team into her home in spite of language barriers, and not even knowing who we were. Hospitality of our hosts continued to shine throughout the weekend. Constant smiles and head-nods of respect greeted us wherever we went. The effort and work done by Sanyo Bussan, the Japan Lifesaving Association (JLA), Seibu Travel Japan, Hotel New Hawaii and its staff, and our translators made this an unforgettable experience.

We had a second short training session in the afternoon to tryout surfskis. Ski’s were provided by the JLA and its members, and were sorted out between the teams on Saturday after teams had a chance to demo them. Surf had 6inch wind chop added to it.

Saturday (9/6) saw us having final tune ups for Sunday’s competition. Surf continued to be dismal. Run relay exchanges, flag starts, and last minute craft time were worked out before the Event Briefing, and again before the Welcome Dinner at the hotel. Teams were introduced and issued their respective racing singlets. Rules were reviewed and questions answered. A small break, and then on to the Welcome Dinner. The food was AMAZING – Fresh sashimi and sushi alongside local delicacies which we will not attempt to pronounce. After a great dinner, some laughs, and a bit of team v. team Karaoke, we broke for team meetings and sleep.

Sunday (9/7) morning, teams awoke to see Lake Pacific at Onjuku Beach, Japan. Whatever surf there was seemed to have disappeared altogether, and in its place competitors were greeted with a minefield of marble-sized jellyfish. From knee-deep water to the apex turn cans, there was no escaping their presence or effect. All part of the competition.
A venue setup that would rival that of Aussie titles was setup in the center of the beach. The “Jumbo-Tron” video screen set immediately north of the stage – an elevated platform slightly larger a volleyball court with a double-tiered awards podium at its center – flared images of competitors warming up into the morning haze. No less than four elevated Camera installments, two mobile cameras for interviews and on-the-sand coverage, cameras on an IRB and a PWC, and a helicopter circling over the water course.

After a filmed-for-television opening ceremony, competition began with the women’s Rescue Race. Second to the cans, Kristen Purdy gave the US a fighting shot at a top spot. Rescuer Tracey Crothers made her way around the cans and, Purdy with a quick clip-in into the tube, headed towards shore in a fight for 2nd place – 4 teams wide, but could not keep pace with the field. Runners Caroline Marani, and Tandis Morgan pulled Purdy up the beach for a 6th place finish.

The men hit the water next, led off by Dustin McLarty. Rescuer Pat Cary was into the water first, followed by Australia and Japan close behind. Clipped in and halfway home, Team USA found itself in a dead heat, three wide, coming into the final meters before the pull up the beach. A last minute push drove Japan A into the lead, giving them the gold, while USA and Australia fought for the Silver. Into the pull up the beach, with Garrett Thibodeau and Micah Carlson on the line, Team USA found itself a bit unlucky with deeper water and had to settle for the Bronze.
The Rescue Board Rescue Race came next. Again, Purdy found herself playing the role of “Victim(V)” racing out to the swim cans, and again coming through with a swim that gave “Rescuer(R)” Tandis Morgan second shot at getting to the turn cans. The ladies left the cans even for second, but were just edged out for the Silver at the line and Morgan and Purdy had to settle for Bronze.

Looking to improve their result from the rescue race, McLarty(V) and Murphy(R) hit the water in their respective legs at a red-hot pace. Rounding the turn can tied for second with Great Britain, USA again found itself on the lesser side of luck as GB got a run that created the gap to seal second. The US Men would Bronze again.

Surf Teams is a mixed teams surf race in which four members from each team (2 male & 2 female) all start together and complete a 400 meter swim course, Cross Country style scoring follows at the finish. Despite valiant efforts by Crothers, Purdy, Cary, and McLarty, the US would come out a shocking 4th place.

Medal Ceremonies commenced during the first break in the action, recognizing the achievements in the first three events on the main stage.

Out of the water and onto the sand – Beach Flags and the Beach Sprint Relay were up next.
Beach Specialists Emily Ward and Caroline Marani took to the Beach Flags Arena with speed on the brain. Both ladies advanced through the early rounds with relative ease. Ward broke at the start of one of the later rounds and was thus disqualified from continuing. She would retain her valuable points however, and be noted as the 6th place finisher. Marani would be edged out in the following round, earning 5th place.

Beach Specialist Garrett Thibodeau and all-arounder Micah Carlson would represent Team USA’s Men in the Beach Flags Arena. A lucky first round flag kept Carlson in the game, while Thibodeau advanced in expected fashion. Subsequent rounds saw Carlson run with the field with surprising speed, helping eliminate much of the field, and finishing in a respectable 8th place. Meanwhile, Thibodeau worked his way through the field, fighting off opposing teams’ attempts at blocking him out. Making the final three Thibodeau faced two members of the Japanese Team – Tatsuya Honda, a seasoned International Flagger, and Motoshi Kitaya, a standalone flagger in his own right. Thibodeau was eliminated by Honda, the eventual Champion, but earned himself a valuable third place finish. Another Bronze? We will take it!

Onto the sprint track – A true challenge for all of the teams as they found themselves having to mix water-specialized athletes into the relay. Team USA’s Women made an impressive showing as Marani and Purdy put the team in a solid third place at the halfway mark. Then, showing amazing closing speed, Morgan ran down the field giving Ward a solid shot at Gold. In what looked like a dead heat for the last 50 meters, Australia would pull away in the final 10 meters – 2nd&3rd a photo finish. Team USA would win a breakthrough Silver, South Africa the Bronze.
The men found an equal challenge on their plate. Led by Thibodeau and Murphy, the Men quickly moved into the front 3. After a very safe exchange, Carlson moved back into a running tie for first with South Africa. Cary took the final leg, but could not hold off South Africa or Australia who had Beach Specialists waiting in the gates. South Africa 1, Australia 2, USA 3.

Medal Ceremonies commenced during the second & final break in the action, recognizing the achievements in the previous two events on the main stage.

The final events would be the greatest tests for the competitors. The Oceanman (Ironman), and the Oceanman Relay (Taplin Relay). The order was drawn the previous day at the event briefing. Ski Swim Board.

The afternoon brought an on/across-shore wind that kicked up good 7 inch runners that angled the course from north to south.

The Oceanwoman saw fierce competition as Great Britain set a blistering pace from the start of the ski leg. Morgan held strong, and kept the US in fighting position going into the swim. However, the legs of Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Champion Elizbeth Pluimers, would kick in during the swim and board leg, leaving the field behind her to fight for second. The race would end with Australia 1st, Great Britain 2nd, Japan B 3rd. USA would settle for 10 points in 6th place.

In the Men’s Oceanman Brian Murphy hit the ski start and was pulled immediately into fourth, riding the wash of Australia and Japan; Great Britain set out like a rabbit. Murphy would fight his way to an even third out of the swim, and entered the board leg wash riding in second place. He was gaining on Great Britain as the approached the shore but due to a one stroke differential he just missed getting his board onto a little wave to the beach. Great Britain got over the wave leaving Murphy to seal up the Bronze with a final run.

The Oceanman relay, better known here as the Taplin relay, consisted of one ski paddler, one swimmer, one board paddler, and one runner. The strength of Australia’s Women’s Team was such that their winning Ocean woman / Ironwoman didn’t even race in their relay. The US women, Morgan, Purdy, Crothers, and Ward, pushed the limits of their counterparts – hitting the water on the board leg in a dead heat for 3rd – but fell short, finishing just out of the medals in a respectable 4th.

After a full day of racing Murphy finally hit the wall just before the apex can of the ski course. But he climbed over said wall and forced his way out of the water in a close 5th position. McLarty then took to the water with a fury – moving across the water like a Jesus-lizard – walking past competitors. McLarty exited the water in 2nd immediately behind Australia, but losing some ground on the transition run-up to the exchange, tagged Carlson in third position. Carlson hammered out, and chased down the wash of Great Britain’s Nick Thomas. As the three top teams headed back towards land, Australia pulled away, but Carlson pulled even and to the inside of Thomas. The final tag exchange saw Thibodeau with a 2 step advantage that he would not concede, but would actually increase across the line – Silver for Team USA.

In the closing ceremonies, to put it in the words of our amazing MC, “Everyone is wondering, who will come ooooout on TOP?!”

As expected by most, Team Australia laid claim to the overall Championship (252 points). Then things got tight. Japan and USA. Japan (220 points) would narrowly edge Team USA (208 points) for 2nd place – giving America the Bronze. This was no small feat – this was the first overall point team podium appearance for the US in international competition in recent history.

A thank you to all of the Competitors:
TEAM USA
Emily Ward, Caroline Marani, Tracey Crothers,
Tandis Morgan, Kristen Purdy
Garrett Thibodeau, Pat Cary, Dustin McLarty,
Brian Murphy, Micah Carlson

Team USA Manager-Coach Jay Butki.

You have all represented yourselves and your country well. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

No Team or individual makes it without support. A special thank you goes to Bob and Sharon Thibodeau and Mrs. Cyndee Purdy for traveling with the team, and being a support crew for the US team.

Thank you to all the JLA Officials and Referees and to our Liason’s and hosts Mrs. Chi Aizawa, Tomomi Nishijima, Aiko Sato, and Aya Asakawa (our US Team translator).
Huge “Thank You’s” to:
SANYO BUSSAN,
Noboru Ro, Director of Sanyo Hanbai Co. LTD.,
President Tsutomu Komine and the Japan Lifesaving Association,
CITY OF ONJUKU, JAPAN,
PATAGONIA,
RAINBOW SANDALS,
HOTEL NEW HAWAII,
USLA,
Waterman’s Sunscreen,
and especially Mr. Darrell Brown from United Airlines at LAX for the three seat upgrades to Japan !




....and then, there were the Sea Turtles.....