Blowout crowns new men's champion

Jose Gruart of Burien, Wash., finished third.

The men's kiteboard race saw Chris Gilbert hold off Hood River's Cory Roeseler by a little over half a second. Adam Koch of Haiku, Hawaii was third.

Renee Hanks of Arcata, Calif., repeated as champion in the women's kiteboard race, finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of runnerup Julie Prochaska of Pukalani, Hawaii.

The Blowout began Saturday morning with 134 competitors poised and ready to challenge the Columbia River.

Seventeen miles later, nearly one-third crossed the finish line. Among the first of those competitors was first-time winner Peterson.

"It felt great, this was my first win in six years," Peterson noted, adding, "This was my 18th year in the Blowout; it's always a tough event."

The most heated battle of the day was contested in the women's kiteboading division.

Last year's Gorge Games champion and the first woman to ever complete the Blowout, Hanks, nosed out Prochaska to take first place for the second year in a row.

Gilbert placed first in both the overall and men's kiteboarding category, edging last year's overall champion, Roeseler, by less than half a minute.

Hood River resident Monique Anderson was the lone woman to cross the finish line in the women's windsurfing category with a time of 3:35:22 seconds; however, she didn't qualify for the final standings because she missed the time cutoff.

For complete Ford Gorge Games results, go to www.gorgegames.com\results.

BLOWOUT RESULTS

Saturday, July 13

The Columbia River

Windsurfing Men

1, Bruce Peterson, 1:09:33.

2, Dale Cook, 1:51:53.

3, Jose Gruart, 2:10:55.

4, Stefan Liddington, 2:35:37.

Kiteboarding Men

1, Chris Gilbert, 1:02:51.

2, Cory Roeseler, 1:03:15.

3, Adam Koch, 1:07:12.

4, Flash Austin, 1:08:09.

Kiteboarding Women

1, Renee Hanks, 1:19:40.

2, Julie Prochaska, 1:30:09.