Morimoto Takes Home Japans First Olympic Longboard Gold Medal at 1st Asian Beach Games in Bali

20 October 2008, Kuta-Bali:  Yuta Morimoto from Japan put on an exciting display of Lonboarding expertise at Kuta Beach today, pulling the top combination score of the surfing competition and a 9 point ride, breaking out numerous trips to the nose and back and mixing it up with big turns, floaters, and cutbacks to come back to the beach with Japan's first surfing Olympic gold medal.

Runner up was Luke Landrigan from the Philippines, who surfed excellently all day, even besting Morimoto in a previous heat.  Though in the 30-minute mid-afternoon final he couldn't find the answer to Morimoto's strong challenge, he came to the beach proud to have gotten a silver medal for his country.

The two bronze medals were earned by Indonesian surfers Wayan Jodi Windana and Husni Ridwan, who also surfed brilliantly throughout the day and their medal finishes made a great addition to the gold already in hand, thanks to Garut Widiarta's Shortboard win yesterday.

Shortboard surfing event Result:
Gold :Yuta Morimoto from (Japan)
Silver : Luke Landrigan Philippines
Bronze: Wayan Jodi Windana (Indonesia)
Bronze: Husni Ridwan (Indonesia)