- Photo by John Alvarez
Stand-up paddler Tamara Lentz credits her first place finish in the Women’s Open Elite Race at Huntington last week to training in the dumpy surf at the Hermosa Beach pier.
“Surfing in Hermosa’s quicker, walled-up, shore pound gives me an advantage over girls down south, where the waves are slower,” Lentz said.
Her win in the inaugural stop on the U.S. SUP Tour qualified the Spyder Surf manager and Hovie’s paddleboard team rider for a spot on the U.S. team that will race in Australia and Puerto Rico.
“There was a south wind on it and I got a bad start and was wondering why did I do this?” Lentz said of the Huntington race. “Each lap, I moved up a place. When I realized I was in second I just went harder.”
Lentz pulled ahead on the last lap by catching a wave to the beach.
Lentz also place fourth in the SUP surfing division at the Huntington contest. The following week, she placed second in the SUP for Clean Water Race in Santa Monica. DZ
