Good one, mum: Emma Webb back on her home beach with son Gus.
ERIN PEARSON
JAN JUC surfing champion Emma Webb has returned victorious from the Australian Surf Festival.
The 30-year-old mother of one claimed the women’s longboard championships and finished second in the women’s standup paddleboard competition at Port Macquarie, on New South Wales’ north coast.
Webb, who made history last year when she became champion of Australia’s first women’s standup paddleboard title, narrowly missed out on retaining her crown amid choppy eight-foot surf.
“Last year my main focus was to enter the competition and win the standup paddleboard event but this year I decided to dabble in the longboard events as well and I’m glad I did.
“It certainly made it tougher on me physically entering both but we all enjoy a little friendly rivalry between the states, which made the longboard win even better.”
Webb said the tough conditions played in her favour, with New South Wales and Queensland competitors less experienced in rough surf.
“Being from Jan Juc, I was more used to the larger conditions.
“We really were competing against the conditions on the day and not necessarily against each other, so we had to be mentally prepared.
“I’ll be having a long break now – two weeks of surfing really takes it out of you.”
