SEBASTIAN KORNUM – SURFING HIS WAY FOR A JOB IN HAWAII

To win two World Cup titles as a Junior and almost all Danish and Nordic championships through the junior years is one thing. But standing on the podium as a first-year senior, is more unusual. He came in third among participants from eight nations at the final in the German Championship in July. Two weeks later at the Formula World Championship in Latvia he came in first in the lightweight. Back in Denmark the following week he won the prestigious Waterz Race in Hvide Sande. There were nearly 200 windsurfers and 100 kite surfers. At the same event he came in second in Slalom-DM, just a single point from the first place. In between the demanding slalom heats Sebastian showed his skills as a Stand Up Paddle surfer by grabbing a second place. A few minutes later he was ready to surf the board for final heats in Slalom-DM again.

At the World Cup in Klitmøller Sebastian won a warm-up race from Vorupør to Klitmøller. The fifteen kilometer race was completed with an average speed of almost 30 knots in three meter high waves. In the wave competition Sebastian came in in the middle of the field and was positively surprised: "If I must succeed in wave sailing, I have to have more experience in the waves. With my previous focus on racing, I will certainly be more than happy to join the middle of the World Cup field. Wave sailing does appeal to me and I will definitely give it a higher priority from now." As mentioned Sebastian showed that he has a great talent in the waves too. He took the second place in the World Cup Stand Up Paddle competition with the same score as the winner Peter Steinfath. Peter finished on the top of the podium due to better style. PWA - the professional windsurfers own organization, responded to Sebastian’s performance by appointing him as "Sailor of the Day" at the World Cup Regattas website.

As reward of the successful season, Sebastian was contacted last week by the chief designer from NeilPryde, who wants to co-operate with Sebastian. Sebastian’s job is to test and develop new products, and it involves that he moves to Maui on Hawaii. So this winter Sebastian’s office will be on the Pacific waves. The 20-year old surfer, who graduated earlier this year says: "This is a unique opportunity that I sure was not prepared for. NeilPryde is the largest and most successful company in the surf industry. The biggest profiles in this sport associates with NeilPryde, so I will meet plenty of expertise and experience. According to chief designer Robert Stroj, they need a young profile, who has got the talent for different disciplines and works in a structured way. In both points, I feel pretty qualified, so off cause I wished this opportunity very welcome. Now I am just busy finding a place to live, getting a car and these practical things.