Surfing: Hareb edges closer to finals

Taranaki surfer Paige Hareb has inched closer to the women's finals of the world surfing games in Panama after topping her heat this morning (NZt).

Hareb is searching for a finals berth and a shot at going one better than 2010 by winning the gold medal that she narrowly missed out on at the Peru event last year.

Hareb's result has also elevated the New Zealand team three places and into the top 10 nations at ninth with two days remaining.

Contesting what was ultimately the last heat of the day, Hareb had to deal with a storm that ripped through the event site making the 1.0m surf conditions below par. The contest site also took a battering with power cuts and damage to infrastructure which forced an early finish to the day.

Hareb won with a score of 13.56 points out of a possible 20.

She requires two more heat progressions to progress to the final of the event.

Open women's repechage round six, Heat 1: Paige Hareb (NZ) 1, Nikita Robb (South Africa) 2, Kaleigh Gilchrist (US) 3.

- NZPA