Top Kiwi surfer injured in photo shoot

Fairfax

TAKE THE SHOT: Paige Hareb was badly injured when a photoshoot went wrong.

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An idyllic photo shoot in the Tahitian surf almost turned to disaster for New Zealand's top woman surfer Paige Hareb yesterday.

The 20-year-old escaped with a badly bruised kneecap and cuts after she was tossed on to jagged reef at the world famous Teahupoo break, an hour from the capital Papeete.

"I can't walk at the moment as I was bashed pretty hard," Hareb said.

She had just caught her first wave when Brazilian Silvana Lima committed the cardinal surfing sin by "dropping in".

"I don't know what she was thinking or even if she saw me, but I had to straighten out and unfortunately I was the one that copped it," Hareb said.

That spill didn't do the damage, it was the force of the following wave that did it.

"I tried to dive under the second one but it just picked me up and rag-dolled me on to the reef. The surf was a solid six foot but there was a lull and I was able to paddle back to the boat."

Crew doused the cuts with lime juice, which Hareb said "cleans out the bacteria". She then had to sit by and watch five of her fellow World Tour professionals finish the shoot.

"Billabong flew us here for a couple of weeks to get some lifestyle shots.

"We watched the men's world champs last week but the surf went flat after that and has only just picked up."

She wasn't looking forward to watching the others wrap up the shoot over the next few days.

"It will probably be best to stay out of the water but I don't know if I'll be able to help myself. It could have been a lot worse I suppose, I was lucky."

Hareb is due home on Sunday. She will rest up for a week before heading off for contests in five countries leading up to Christmas. First up is a World Qualifying Series (WQS) event in Brazil from September 20-23.

"I am currently ninth on the world tour and the top 11 automatically requalify for the pro circuit next year. I'm right on that qualifying bubble so Brazil is to cover my butt really.

"The top six from those qualifiers make up the pro tour for next year."

A world tour event in Portugal follows Brazil and then Hareb will join the New Zealand team for the world ISA championships in Peru. The final two world tour events in Puerto Rico and Hawaii wrap up her 2010 season.

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