The venue for this last Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup Stop of the 2008 season was a man-made saltwater canal at the exclusive Doha Diplomatic Club in Qatar. Clear blue skies and a comfortable 29C air temperature made it perfect for this final World Cup Stop of the season. Doha Qatar in the Arabian Gulf has a skyline which says it all. Breathtaking skyscrapers seem to appear over night - and each tries to outdo the other for grandeur. The nearby Aspire Dome houses 30 sports arenas and is the largest of its kind in the world.
The hectic World Cup global tour of 2008 included Dubna Russia, Hacienda Bay Egypt, Marina Bay Singapore, Putrajaya Malaysia and finally the Diplomatic Club in Doha Qatar. Included at this Stop, the 26th in the series, were Slalom, Tricks and Wakeboard for both men and women. As most of the World Cup overall season places depended on the Doha outcome, this added an extra fascination to the results. The event was sponsored by Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), The Diplomatic Club, MasterCraft and the International Water Ski Federation (IWSF)
In Ladies Slalom, four places were available in the Final. Two of the four were taken by French athletes - Clementine Lucine and Claire Lise Welter. However the best Semi-Final scores came from Danyelle Bennett USA and Ageliki Andriopoulou GRE. Lucine took the previous title in Malaysia last week and so was the hot favorite here in Doha. Although Lucine and Andriopoulou performed very well in the Doha Finals, it was the young rising star Claire Lise Welter who took the Slalom title in a slight tail breeze with a score of I Buoy on the 11.25m line. This was the first World Cup title for Claire Lise Welter.
In Shortboard / Tricks, both the Men and Ladies events were wide open. New young rising stars - 19 year old Marion Aynaud FRA was a serious contender.
In the Ladies Tricks Finals, past World Record holder Mandy Nightingale USA was first on the water. She set a cracking pace with 6870 points. The new World Record holder, Clementine Lucine FRA, fell just a little short with 6490 points. Only Ageliki Andriopoulou could rock the boat at that stage but she too fell short with 6670 points. An elated past World Record holder, Mandy Nightingale USA, succeeded in holding her lead right from the start and took the Doha title in style. This was one of her greatest triumphs of 2008.
The Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup overall season winners will be announced shortly. Details will be available at
www.waterskiandwakeboardworldcup.com
Here are the results of the Doha Qatar Stop of the Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup series :
SLALOM
LADIES
1.Claire Lise Welter FRA
2.Clementine Lucine FRA
3.Ageliki Andriopoulou GRE
TRICKS
LADIES
1.Mandy Nightingale USA
2.Ageliki Andriopoulou GRE
3.Clementine Lucine FR
