Freddie Winter was second in men’s slalom and Rob Hazelwood third in men’s overall at the classic Moomba Masters event in Melbourne, Australia, which concluded on Monday 13th March….

It was the second consecutive Moomba silver for Freddie but it very nearly didn’t happen.

A huge upset looked on the cards in Sunday’s semi-finals. In rough water conditions and with a strong wind, Freddie failed to run the 11.25 metre line – a rarity for him. He scored only 3 @ 11.25m.  His place in the final hung by the thinnest thread.

However, the last skier off the dock in the semi-final, Robert Pigozzi of the Dominican Republic, also went down unexpectedly early. He'd got 2 @ 10.25m in the first round and was top seed,  Although the start line length in the semi-final was 13m, Robert chose to go out at 12m and failed to run it, scoring 1.5 buoys. Robert’s misfortune was Freddie’s luck and the Brit took the 8th and last spot in Monday’s final.

Freddie was first out in the final, redeeming himself with a score of 1.5 @ 10.25m and holding the lead until the very last skier, the current World Champion and world record holder, Nate Smith (USA).

Freddie Winter in the final. Photo: Will Robertson

For the second year in a row Freddie lost out to Nate, who scored 2 @ 10.25m to win.

Thomas Degasperi of Italy was 3rd.

Men's slalom podium. Photo: Late Night Media

“It was tough to miss out by such a small margin, and at the last moment, but overall I’m so happy to be amongst the medals," Freddie said.

"The build up to the event was tough for me with anything like competitive form arriving very late in the day. With all that in mind I’m very happy to be challenging and even more excited than before for another competitive year.”

Rob Hazelwood competed in all three events – slalom, tricks and jump.

He made the final in both tricks and jump where he finished in 4th and 5th respectively with some impressive scores.

Rob Hazelwood in the tricks final. Photo: Will Robertson

His 9660 trick points and 60.7 metre jump were enough to push him up from 4th place Overall to 3rd.

Dorien Llewellyn of Canada was 1st Overall and Archie Davies (Australia) 2nd.

Men's overall podium. Photo: Late Night Media

The full results can be found at:  http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/23AUS065/