North Carolina Sunday 7th November:

Connor Baxter and April Zilg were crowned APP Sprint Champions today after stepping up to the challenge in unprecedented conditions at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

After 30-knot winds called for a modified and shortened racecourse, the APP sprints saw athletes go out through 6-foot surf to do one buoy turn before they returned back through the surf for a beach sprint to the finish line.

The men’s title was claimed by Hawaii’s Connor Baxter after he battled with an all-star line-up in the men’s final, which consisted of 2019 World Champion Casper Steinfath, 2018 World Champion Arthur Arutkin and Red Bull Heavy Water stand out Christian Andersen.

In one of the most exciting finishes in some time, a set wave came through that could have given Casper Steinfath and Arthur Arutkin the chance to catch leaders Connor Baxter and Christian Andersen. However, it was not to be, as Casper and Arthur were unable to hold on as the set wave peaked and bucked them off, leaving Baxter and Andersen to battle it out to the finish. On a neck and neck sprint to the finish line, Andersen tripped, leaving the door open for Baxter to claim both the sprint and overall title.

“Christian had the right line, but I had the long legs and his little stumble ended up giving me the win. Without that stumble it would have been a dive to the finish line.”

After a stellar performance on Day One of the Carolina Cup, local legend April Zilg came back for another win in the APP Sprints, making it a clean sweep of the weekend for Zilg. Also on the podium for the women’s sprints was Japan’s Rika Okuaki, who placed 2nd, and Peru’s Giannisa Vecco, who placed third.

The success story of the weekend though, is 15-year-old Shuri Araki, aka Shrimpy, who travelled thirty-five hours from Japan to compete in the Carolina Cup. After beating multiple World Tour veterans throughout the weekend, he is returning to Japan with a 3rd place overall after an incredible performance that ranks him with the best in the world.

Stay tuned for full highlights and photos at @appworldtour and for full results click here. The APP World Tour will be releasing a provisional schedule for the 2022 Tour later this month so stay tuned.