The major Sydney Water Surf Series trophies will remain on Illawarra shores after Bailey Krstevski and Sarah Locke emerged victorious in the 2023 competition on Saturday.
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The annual four-round series is based in the Illawarra, but features some of the best surf life saving talent from across NSW. The fourth and final event was held at Wollongong City Beach.
Warilla-Barrack Point Surf Life Saving Club rising star Krstevski and Bulli's Locke - who now represents Newport SLSC - were among the frontrunners heading into the fourth round. The pair's biggest strength, their swimming, as on show again on Saturday as they finish on top of the series' point-scores.
Krstevski was pipped on the line in the surf race by Bulli SLSC's Brayden Woodford, who is an Australian surf life saving representative. Krstevski bounced back to win the Ironman race from Wollongong City's Ben Squiers on his home beach.
The 19-year-old, who claimed his first ever Sydney Water Surf Series round victory at Kiama Downs in early November, was delighted to take out the series.
"That win a couple of weeks ago gave me a lot of confidence coming into the next couple of rounds of the Sydney Water. To come home with one today feels really good, there were some tough conditions with a big run and not many waves," Krstevski said.
"Last weekend (round three at Bulli) gave me a lot of confidence, going up against blokes in the Nutri-Grain Ironman series. To come away with some good performances gives me a lot of confidence heading into the later season when it comes to the big carnivals."
Meanwhile, Locke capped off a strong 2023 series by winning Saturday's Ironwoman event. It's a sweet feeling for the 19-year-old, who moved to Newport Surf Life Saving Club over winter in a bid to ramp up her preparations for a busy SLSC season.
"I felt pretty good out there today, conditions were a bit different to what it's been like, especially last week with the chop. It was also less windy, so I definitely enjoy these conditions a lot more," Locke said.
"It feels good (to be declared series winner). It's only early season, so it's about building up for state and Aussie (championships). But it's good to get a few wins in early."
However, Krstevski and Locke weren't the only Illawarra talents to excel at Wollongong City Beach.
Saturday's round and overall series ski title was claimed by Bulli's Callum Elliott, who is an Australian junior kayak representative. Elliott used Saturday's event as his final preparation for next weekend's World Ocean Ski Championships in Perth.
Warilla's Jayden Allan and Jordan White also took out the overall board race title in the open men's and open women's categories, with the pair having secured multiple victories during the series.
Australian champion Sam Zustovich did enough to win both the beach sprint and beach flag titles. Other strong Illawarra performers in beach events in their respective categories included Mischa Boniface, Isabella Evans, Rory-Lindsay Cowan and Xavier Anderson.
Warilla's Maddix Burke also sealed a tight victory over clubmates Kobe Sims and Mack Elliott in the under-15s water series, while Claire Spicknall claimed victory in the under-17s point-score.
Saturday's round wraps up a strong 2023 series, with close to 1000 surf lifesavers getting the opportunity to show their wares in the competition. The organisers have a multi-year commitment from Sydney Water, which means the series will return to Illawarra beaches in 2024.
Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
