It all went down in the final heat of the 2019 APB World Tour season, when Capetonian bodyboarder Tristan Roberts won his first world title. The auspicious competition took place in Gran Canaria, Spain.
According to SurferToday.com, Roberts’ main competitor was Amaury Lavernhe, one of France’s top bodyboarders. Lavernhe walked away as the crowning champion of World Tour in 2010, as well as 2014.
Roberts started the competition off strong, and was determined to bring the title of reigning world champion back to South Africa. He had an early lead, and celebrated his world title win in the water before joining his friends and family on the cliff.
“What a year filled with pain, disappointment, anger, happiness, self-growth and now… success. I went through it all this year and the only thing that kept me sane and going was bodyboarding. I wanted to put as much time and effort into achieving what I dreamed of for the last 15 years, becoming world champion,” Roberts said when announcing his win on Instagram. “To all the people who believed in me and to all those who didn’t, I thank you. From one damn emotional Tristan to all of you, thank you for helping me achieve my dream. To all the South Africans, to all the people from my home town, to all the people sending me love from all over the world, I’m sending it right back to you!”
Roberts was emotional during his win, as he says Gran Canaria is very close to his heart. “The Canary Islands helped me through one of the toughest times in my life when my dad passed away, and the community really helped me. I’m forever grateful to all the locals,” he said.
In the women’s final, Alexandra Rinder put out a splendid performance and defeated Isabela Sousa in front of her home crowd.
Picture: Tristan Roberts/Instagram
