Tao Berman wins kayak 'big air' event

World's best kayaker wins competition he's never attempted before

The event was new to Richmond, Virginia's Dominion Riverrock festival - but it was equally new to the winner of the competition, three-times world champion extreme kayaker, Tao Berman.

The Red Bull Canal Crashers event at the weekend saw competitors launch themselves in their kayaks down a 30-foot slide before taking off into the air and throwing tricks, flips and spins and plunging - sometimes upside down - into a pool that had been set up in the city's canal.

Kayakers taking part were judged on the difficulty and precision of their tricks and although Berman told WideWorld the day before the event that he'd never competed in anything like this before (he's usually plunging off 100 ft waterfalls or ploughing through Class 5 whitewater), it was Berman who ultimately won the competition.

Berman is one of the most successful whitewater kayakers ever - best known for the first and only descent of the 98-foot Johnston Falls in Alberta, Canada, eleven years ago.

The 2nd annual Dominion Riverrock festival, Richmond's sports and outdoors festival showcasing the riverfront, drew over 3,000 participants and over 25,000 spectators to Brown's Island on May 14th - 15th. These record numbers make Dominion Riverrock one of the largest outdoor sports festivals in the United States.

Check out more pictures in WideWorld's 'In Pics' section.

For more information on the Riverrock festival, visit: www.dominionriverrock.com/kayak_big_air.html
To find out more about Tao Berman, visit: www.taoberman.com