Kiteboarding Magazine

Highlight included: Mark Shinn wins men's freestyle, Sheldon Plentovich wins women's freestyle. Hang-Time World Record Broken By Red Bull Athlete Julie Prochaska Gilbert

October 5, 2002. Maui, HI : After a year of absence, Red Bull King of

The Air returned to Ho'okipa Beach on Maui's north shore with the world's

Best kiteboarders to battle Maui's notoriously strong wind and waves for a

Piece of the $20,000 prize purse. In a stunning upset, Mark Shinn (United

Kingdom), current world tour points leader, upset 2000 Red Bull King of

The Air champion Marcus ''Flash'' Austin (Maui, Hawaii) in the men's freestyle

final event.

Sixty men and thirteen women competed in a big air freestyle preliminary

round at Kanaha Beach, otherwise known as ''Kite Beach,'' from September

30 to October 1, 2002. The unique combination of local, national and

international professional and amateur kiters added a new twist to the

world-renowned kiteboarding event. The field was narrowed down to 20

men and 4 women who met 4 pre-seeded men and 2 pre-seeded women in the main

event at Ho'okipa Beach from October 3 to October 6, 2002.

THE MAIN EVENT

With the double elimination format, Shinn secured his place in the final

round early on while the rest of the competitors battled it out for the

remaining slot in the man-on-man freestyle final. Marcus ''Flash'' Austin

advanced with one loss to meet and beat Shinn in the first heat of the

final round. With one loss each, Shinn and Austin met for a second

match-up to determine who would be Red Bull King of the Air. Shinn

proved himself victorious in the second heat of the final round that could have

easily gone either way. With back-to-back big air jumps reaching 40

feet high, flying more than 100 feet in distance while pulling technical

tricks by each competitor, spectators eagerly awaited the judge's decision. ''I

knew it was going to be really tough to beat Flash and after the first

heat of the final round I didn't know what was going to happen. I got another

chance and managed to come back in the second heat of the finals,'' said

Mark Shinn. ''Red Bull King of the Air is the most respected competition.

To win it is awesome!''

''The Red Bull King of the Air contest has the most clout of any contest.

I compete all year round all over the world. This is the one I am thinking

about all year so that by the time I get here I'm ready,'' added Austin.

''Win or lose, it's all about the experience. I'm living the dream.''

Sheldon Plentovich (Oahu, Hawaii) put on a solid debut performance as

She dominated the Red Bull King of the Air women's freestyle final by

Beating Fabienne d'Ortoli (France).

''The conditions in today's finals were challenging. The wind was really

gusty and totally unpredictable. I had to work hard for this win,'' said

an elated Plentovich.

FLYING HIGH

The Red Bull King of the Air hang-time contest followed on the heels of

The freestyle finals at Ho'okipa Beach on October 5, 2002. Twenty-four Red

Bull King of the Air competitors took advantage of the 20-25 knot Trade Winds

To try to keep themselves aloft for the longest period of time after any

One jump to win the hang-time competition. Jaime Herraiz (Spain) took first

place in the men's with a hang-time of 7.1 seconds. ''I was flying pretty

high and I remember thinking that the beach looked so small. Ho'okipa is

the Mecca for kite boarders. To win is just like a dream.''

Red Bull athlete Julie Prochaska-Gilbert (Maui, Hawaii) broke her own

women's world record that she set in 2001 with a hang-time of 6.41

seconds.

''I took advantage of the double lift and got so high. Even though the

wind was howling, I could hear the crowd cheering me on and so I knew I had

pulled off a big one. I had no idea I had broken my record.''

FINAL RED BULL KING OF THE AIR FREESTYLE STANDINGS

Men's Freestyle

1st ? Mark Shinn  United Kingdom - $5,000

2nd ? Marcus ''Flash'' Austin ? Maui, Hawaii - $2,500

3rd ? Sky Solbach  Washington - $1,500

4th ? Jaime Herriaz  Spain ? $900

Equal 5th

- Robbie Naish  Oahu, Hawaii - $750

- Jeff Tobias  Oahu, Hawaii - $750

Equal 7th

- Greg Drexler  Maui, Hawaii - $500

- Martin Vari ? Oahu, Hawaii - $500

Equal 9th

- Paul Franco  Maui, Hawaii - $300

- Jaime Herraiz  Spain - $300

- Mark Doyle  Washington - $300

- Katsuhi Shinjo  Maui, Hawaii - $300

Women's Freestyle

1st - Sheldon Plentovich  Oahu, Hawaii - $1,750

2nd ? Fabienne d'Ortoli  France - $900

3rd ? Rebecca Wolthers  Maui, Hawaii - $600

4th ? Julie Prochaska Gilbert  Maui, Hawaii - $400

5th ? Dana Pinto  California - $200

6th ? Marigold Zoll  Oahu, Hawaii - $150

Footage from the 2002 Red Bull King of the Air contest can be seen on

The National Network's ''RE: Evolution of Sports'' program on Saturday,

November 9, 2002 at 2 p.m. (please check your local listing).

For further press information contact Josh Kendrick at 310.460.5254 or

Joshua.Kendrick@us.redbull.com or visit the website at

www.redbullkingoftheair.com. Free photos may also be ordered for

editorial use in high resolution at www.redbull-photofiles.com