It was a fitting end to an event steeped in a mix of camaraderie and tough competition as Team USA took the overall gold medal today over Team France at the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in fine surf at Playa Hermosa.

It was the first time that the Americans have won an overall gold medal in since the 1996 World Surfing Games in Huntington Beach. From the opening heats of the Games at Playa Hermosa that began eight days ago, Team USA appeared committed and focused, as they competed against 34 other teams for a spot on the podium.

With the final day of competition looming overhead, Team USA stood firm and was able to place five or their eight team members into the three finals, hence becoming the team to beat.

The team was led by Ian Cairns who assumed the position as Coach less than one month ago. "We had good surfers and what we did was to stay very concentrated," said a low-key Cairns. "This is a long event and it was very important to preserve your energy."

"I am really very happy" said Cairns of the first American title in more than a decade. "My goal was to come here and win. But also I wanted to establish a different personality for American surfing. I didn't want to make a lot of noise until things were happening. We built the support, the calmness and we focused on being together and concentrating on doing things well. Later, at the final, we went to the beach to wave the flag."

+++ FINAL Team Results: GOLD - United States - 14910 points SILVER - France - 13280 points BRONZE - Australia - 10996 points COPPER - Hawaii - 10856 points