Johannesburg - South Africa's Bianca Buitendag finished second in the women's competition at the World Junior Surfing Championships in Bali on Friday after she was convincingly beaten by Australia's Nikki van Dijk in the final.
The lanky 19-year-old from George had been a standout throughout the event which featured 18 of the world's best Under-20 women's surfers, posting the highest single ride score and the highest heat total on her way to the final.
In the final, held in flawless conditions, she was unable to find the best waves to execute the moves that saw her post big scores in the earlier rounds and could not match Van Dijk's performance.
"I'm really happy with second," Buitendag said.
"I came here with no expectations and to finish like this has been great."
Mikey February was the best of the South Africans in the men's event, reaching the third round before he was ousted by Japan's Arashi Kato.