A member of the Freespirit British Surf Team, Skinner, who impressed the judges throughout the week at the event – the sport’s ‘Olympics’ – finished second just 0.34 of a point behind six-time South African champion Matthew Moir in the longboard final.
Skinner (22), who was educated at Victorian College, said: ‘I’m just so happy.
It was great to stand on the podium and be crowned number two in the world.
I was so proud.
This will really help my career.
‘I would have liked to take the gold, obviously, but I am only young and I know I will have more chances to be crowned champion.’ Moir, who was competing in the event for the first time, surfed a flawless final hanging ten, cross-stepping the board and kicking in big bottoms to take gold.
Skinner, who now lives in Newquay, Cornwall, helped Britain to achieve its best ever result at a World Surfing Games.
Britain has never made it into the top ten before, but now they are ranked ninth.
GB team manager Paul Jeffery said: ‘We are all thrilled with the result.
It was well deserved.
In my eyes Ben is already a champion.
This is our best result so far and I think it has a lot to do with what a great selection of surfers that we’ve now got.’ Skinner will now have his sights firmly fixed on going one step further at the next WS Games in Portugal in 2008.
And he could be helping David Ferguson to coach Island youngsters at the European Junior championships in Ferrol, Spain, next month.
