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By Kristin Boese
Posted Tuesday 22 July 2008
Today the fourth KPWT of the year came to an end.. Another very successful event with great conditions and riding! From day one the wind was with us.
Because Istanbul is not really known as the windiest place in the world we tried to use the time we had and so we did not only run the singles on the first day but also started the doubles. Great news for me as after the singles I found myself in 9th place only. Due to my broken ankle I had missed out on some points at the beginning of the season and was now only seated 7th which meant for me that I had to ride against Ainoha (freestyle title holder) in my second heat already. Still not being back to my normal riding I had to give in and would now have to fight my way back up in the doubles again – a lot of work! So I rode a total of 9 heats in the first 2 days and found myself in third position in the end! Back on the podium – what a good feeling.
For me one thing is for sure – if I want to get back to my normal freestyle performance I will need to free ride for at least a few days... the lack of confidence in my ankle and in landing the tricks I use to do is kind of there and I need to get rid of it... lets hope I will get a few free ride sessions before the next freestyle event.
But anyways, not much time to think about that as the next day we started the course races. And I can tell you, these were some crazy course races. A storm had brought some huge swell (for Turkey anyways) and not only the shore break but also the swell outside was very exciting! On my directional board I almost felt like in a wave competition and really enjoyed riding. I especially enjoyed finishing first in the races of course!!! But now I really was tired... 3 full, full days of riding and competing ... so I was kind of happy that the wind left us from then on.
Even though there was no more riding anymore that did not mean that the event was over, no, we just got started! The organizers took care of us sooo well, they brought us the Bosporus, to a huge sports center with indoor skiing and snowboarding and so on and to the shopping mall of course! ;) But best of all was our evening out in this fancy restaurant. I had never seen a place like this...the walls were made out of trees, the ceiling open sky. Not only the food must have been the best in whole Turkey but the shows did not end... dancing, singing, magic trick... and awesome music that we all enjoyed dancing too. At midnight a huge cake with the KPWT logo was brought in to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the KPWT and balloons with sparklers were released into the sky. It actually made me get Goosebumps and was a very special moment during this week. I think this was the fanciest party I have experienced during my 7 years of competing and I very much enjoyed just enjoying it! Anyways, everything great had to come to an end and so we closed the competition in Burc Beach/Istanbul with a nice price giving today.
I can only say thanks for a great organization and a week full of experiences. I am looking forward to come back here next year!
