 Mick Fanning (AUS) has won the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach after battling 2013 Bells Beach winner Adriano de Souza (BRA) for the right to ring the Bell. Finals Day at the 54th anniversary of the event saw conditions clean up for the 35-minute bout while the two Bells champions delivered the closest Final in Championship Tour (CT) history. Victory for Fanning today means that he is tied with Kelly Slater (USA) and Mark Richards (AUS) with four Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach wins each, the most in the event’s history. Fanning first won in 2001 as a wildcard and then again in 2012 and 2014. The three-time World Champion also ties with Andy Irons (HAW), who both have 20 CT event wins. “I’d never put myself in a category with MR (Mark Richards), Kelly Slater and Andy Irons,” said Fanning. “Those guys are my heroes. MR is a god, Kelly is a king and Andy is forever, it’s awesome.”  The first ever tiebreak Final puts Fanning on a path to his fourth World Title and he will take the gold leader jersey going into the third event on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) in Margaret River. Today’s match-up was the pair’s tenth in CT history, including three at Bells Beach, and Fanning has taken seven wins while De Souza has three. “Bells is a special place for me and it’s the first event I ever came to as a kid. The support and the crowds here are always amazing,” said Fanning. “Every time I paddle out I just want to do my best, throw myself into it and not have any regrets. You have to take it heat by heat because you never know what’s going to happen next. Every year on this Tour we all give it our all and try to put on a good show.” “Today is the first time a CT Final has ever been tied, which is radical. As elating as the win is for me I know it’s heartbreaking for Adriano,” continued Fanning. “He’s such a top bloke and he throws his heart into everything and he trains so hard. He’s the elder statesman for the Brazilian storm and he does an impeccable job at leading them.”  De Souza was first take a wave in the Final for a small score, backing it up with 20 minutes remaining to put the pressure on and leave Fanning scoreless. The Australian went down on his first ride and De Souza quickly capitalized on the mistake by unleashing big turns for a 7.50 and a 13.83 heat total. Fanning came back with an impressive layback hack, clean rail work and a series of critical turns for an excellent 8.17, putting him back in contention. Another wave with ten minutes remaining saw Fanning claim the lead with a 7.10.De Souza, the only Brazilian male to ring the bell, continued to demonstrate smooth, seamless surfing, searching for a 7.78 to take back the top spot. He was awarded 7.77 leaving the pair tied with 15.27 each. In a tiebreak situation the highest single-wave score wins the heat, which was Fanning’s 8.17. With less than two minutes remaining De Souza couldn’t find the score he needed and leaves Bells Beach with a second-place finish, 8,000 points and moves up to third place on the WSL rankings. “It’s a dream come true to make a Final here at Bells,” said De Souza. “This is such an amazing place for me and it was so special to put my name on this trophy in 2013. Every time I come here it’s a special experience.” “Mick really deserved to be number no. 1,” continued De Souza. “Thanks so much to everyone back home and everyone who came down to the beach to support us. Thanks to Rip Curl and WSL for putting on another big event and see you next year.”  After a runner-up finish at Bells Beach in 2013, Nat Young (USA) fell one heat short of equalling his best Bells result after being defeated by eventual winner Fanning in Semifinal number two. Young moves on to Margaret River in equal sixth place on the rankings where he will be looking for another solid result. “Mick (Fanning) is probably my favorite athlete in the world so it’s always good to compete against him,” Young said. “Last year I was in a bit of a slump and overthinking things and didn’t do so great. So now it feels good to build some momentum heading into Margaret River.” In the Quarterfinals reigning WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) was defeated by runner-up De Souza (BRA). The win for De Souza sees him remain undefeated against Medina on the CT with six wins. Medina will move into the next event as world no. 9. “That was a tough heat, there weren’t that many waves and it’s always hard to surf against Adriano (de Souza),” said Medina. “I wish I could have had some better waves but I’m feeling good. Margarets is such a good wave and I think it’s better than here so I’m looking for a good result over there. There’s only been two events so far and today is a good result for me. I hope that continues and I can fight for the title at the end of the year.” Filipe Toledo (BRA) now shares the rating’s lead with Fanning after he was also eliminated in the Quarterfinals by Young. The result matches Toledo’s best here at Bells Beach, having previously earned a fifth-place finish in 2013. “It was a really tough one against Nat (Young) and he’s been surfing really good,” said Toledo. “I’m still happy and this is a really good result and a keeper for me for the rest of the year. I had a couple of mistakes out there with priority and I should have tried some maneuvers. I’m happy though and looking for another good result at Margarets. I’m stoked and thank you to everyone who’s been supporting me.”  Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Final Results:
1: Mick Fanning (AUS) - 15.27 (Fanning wins with the heat’s highest single-wave score, 8.17) 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) - 15.27 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Semifinal Results: SF 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.84 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 9.87 SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.70 def. Nat Young (USA) 14.23 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Quarterfinal Results: QF 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.60 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 8.33 QF 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.00 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 7.93 QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.76 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60 QF 4: Nat Young (USA) 15.10 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.86
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 A day of shock upsets at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, stop no. 2 of the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), as the men's and women's Quarterfinalists were decided in challenging conditions. Three former event winners were eliminated from the competition today with Kelly Slater (USA) going down to Gabriel Medina (BRA), Joel Parkinson (AUS) was defeated by Josh Kerr (AUS) and Silvana Lima (BRA) fell at the hands of Lakey Peterson (USA).  Opening up Men’s Round 5 was one of the most anticipated heats of the year so far with 11-time world champion Kelly Slater (USA) coming up against the new guard, reigning WSL Champion, Gabriel Medina (BRA). 23 years his senior, Slater was in control for the majority of the heat with 2 mid-range scores, but with less than five minutes remaining, Medina took off on a smaller inside wave without priority and rapped three nice turns to land a heat high 7.17 and take the win. Medina’s victory today sees him take the edge over Slater with six wins to the American’s five across the pair’s 11 CT match-ups. “That was pretty close,” Medina said. “It was a tough heat against Kelly (Slater), I knew it was going to be hard. I’m stoked to be in the quarters, it’s a tough event and I’m looking for a solid result here.” As the wind increased and conditions began to deteriorate, three time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach winner Joel Parkinson (AUS) met fellow Coolangatta raised surfer Josh Kerr (AUS) in a Heat 2 of Round 5. Parkinson’s silky rail surfing had him in the box seat for the entire heat with Kerr not finding a wave until the 20-minute mark. Kerr was able to hit the front after the final siren, take the win and will do battle with Owen Wright in Quarterfinal 2 when competition resumes. “A good one came right before our heat started, so I just sat there waiting for one of them,” Kerr said. “Then it completely changed, the wind came up and it was really tough.”  Mick Fanning (AUS) battled Jadson Andre (BRA) for a Quarterfinal berth. The pair have previously matched up three times at Bells and the Australian has won all three bouts. Andre held the lead for the first half of the heat with Fanning searching the challenging lineup for a score of significance. The defending event winner found a solid 7.00 to put him back in contention and backed it up with a 5.27 for the win and a place in the Quarterfinals for the tenth consecutive year. “It’s really tough out there and I was really anxious, I was losing my mind,” said Fanning. “I got lucky with that 7-point-ride, it opened up for me with two sections. The ocean is a tricky beast, but she’s gorgeous. I’ll now match-up with Jordy (Smith) again, we’ve had some great battles over the years and I’m really looking forward to it.” Jeremy Flores (FRA) had a lot to surf for in the last heat of Round 5 against past Bells runner-up Nat Young (USA), battling for the remaining spot in the Quarterfinals. Showing composure above his years, Young posted two good scores to hold the tour veteran at bay and look to continue his success at the Rip Curl Pro.  Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 5 Results (1st to QF, 2nd = 9th):
Heat 1: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.00 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 12.53 Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.40 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 10.17 Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.27 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.60 Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) 14.66 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 5.93 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Quarterfinal Match-ups: Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Gabriel Medina (BRA) Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS) Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS) Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Nat Young (AUS)  Action continued today at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, the second stop on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), and saw clean, lined-up conditions for the world’s best surfers. A day of big battles unfolded as surfers fought for a place in the Quarterfinals. In a round where the red jersey’s (higher seeds) dominated overall, there were still a few shock exits with past Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach winner Taj Burrow (AUS) going down to Jadson Andre (BRA). Julian Wilson (AUS) wasn't able to back up last year’s Semifinal berth and John John Florence (HAW) couldn’t find a score against Jeremy Flores (FRA). With plenty of waves still on offer, Round 4 hit the lineup. The opening heat saw a fiery exchange between Kelly Slater (USA), Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Josh Kerr (AUS). Slater slashed and carved his way to an 8.50 on his opening wave, earning an early advantage as De Souza and Kerr started with 7.83 and 2.33 respectively. De Souza answered back by punching out big turns on a set wave, finishing strong on the inside to net a near-perfect 9.63 and book a Quarterfinal berth. Slater and Kerr will get another opportunity to advance in Round 5 where Slater will face Gabriel Medina (BRA) and Kerr will match-up against Joel Parkinson (AUS). “Kelly and I went wave for wave, and somehow I got the best wave of the exchange,” De Souza said. “I'm so lucky to make it straight to the Quarters and I'm really proud of myself to make it this far.”  Joel Parkinson (AUS) faced Owen Wright (AUS) and reigning WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) in their Round 4 Heat. Wright held the lead at the halfway mark but the two-time Bells winner came back, lighting up the Bells walls to post an 8.77 and steal the lead. A battle unfolded between the two Australians and Wright reclaimed the top spot, leaving Medina in a combination situation. A last-minute attempt by Parkinson didn’t produce the score when an uncharacteristic fall ended his chances of a win. Wright moves through to the Quarterfinals, equalling his best Bells result, while Parkinson and Medina will look to bounce back in Round 5. “I feel really comfortable here at Bells,” said Wright. “Being in the Quarterfinals is definitely the platform for me to achieve here but I really to want to go further this year.” Three-time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach champion and defending event winner Mick Fanning (AUS) looked dominant in Round 4, opening his heat with an excellent 9.00. South African Jordy Smith (ZAF) was also on fine form, posting an 8.50 to keep him in contention. 2013 Bells finalist Nat Young (USA) posted two mid-range scores but couldn't compete with the natural footers, who went wave for wave, with Smith coming out on top and moving through to the Quarterfinals.  “I made a few mistakes in that heat and if I can clean them up I will be happy,” Smith said. “As the tide dropped it seemed that every set got better. When the tide is low on The Bowl it gets really fun and you can really lay down some big tracks.” The Final heat of the day saw Filipe Toledo (BRA) continue his red hot run of form as he took to the sky and took another win to advance directly into the Quarterfinals and skip Round 5. Jadson Andre (BRA) and Jeremy Flores (FRA) were left in his wake and will have to take to the water again in the next Round.  Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 3 Results (1st to R4, 2nd = 13th): Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.90 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 14.33 Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.93 def. Freddy Patacchia Jr. (HAW) 14.00 Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.67 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 13.44 Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.84 def. Matt Banting (AUS) 13.00 Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.10 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.76 Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 10.00 def. Mason Ho (HAW) 8.10 Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.84 def. Brett Simpson (AUS) 12.73 Heat 8: Nat Young (USA) 14.37 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.73 Heat 9: Jordy Smith (AUS) 14.03 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 7.90 Heat 10: Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.87 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 7.00 Heat 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18.57 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 15.10 Heat 12: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.00 def. John John Florence (HAW) 10.76 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 4 Results (1st to QF, 2nd & 3rd to R5): Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.46, Kelly Slater (USA) 15.93, Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.43 Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 15.97, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.70, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.96 Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.97, Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.17, Nat Young (AUS) 13.96 Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.47, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.17, Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.90 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 5 Match-ups (1st to QF, 2nd = 9th): Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Gabriel Medina (BRA) Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS) Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA) Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) vs. Nat Young (USA)   EP got 3rd spot © Petronel Posthumus Cape Town team win the Mandela Bay Trophy for the fourth year in a row at the 2015 Billabong Grommet Games in Port Elizabeth The Cape Town Grommet Team won the 2015 Billabong SA Grommet Games for the fourth year in a row on Friday April 3rd and they return to the Western Cape with the coveted the Mandela Bay Trophy in their hands. Cape Town’s traditional rivals, eThekweni, had to settle for second place while hosts Nelson Mandela Bay slipped into third place this year. The Cape Winelands team secured fourth place with Buffalo City taking fifth ahead of Eden. The Cape Town team beat Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay and eThekweni to defend their Tag Team Title while their depth and the fact that they produced 11 finalists across the eight surfing divisions also secured them the 2015 Surfing Award. The coveted Team Spirit Award went to eThekweni.  SA u9 champ - EP's Zia Hendricks from JBay © Petronel Posthumus The Cape Town Grommet Team’s dominance at this unique 23 year old event is a credit to the commitment shown by Barbara Johnson, the Team Manager and the coaching team led by Head Coach, Craig Johnson. Close to 100 girls and boys from six provincial districts took part in the annual event which is Surfing South Africa's premier entry level inter-provincial tournament. Sponsorship from Billabong, funding from Sport and Recreation South Africa and support from Lotto ensured that the 23rd edition of the SA Grommet Games was a success once again. The Grommet Games were coordinated with great skill by Event Director Shirley Fairall and her team while Contest Director Brian Abrahams, Head Judge Merrick Fairall and his officials did a great job over the four days of competition. Surfing South Africa Vice President Johnny Bakker represented SSA at the opening function and throughout the event while Grant Beck and Billabong Team ensured that the SA Grommet Games was a standout on the annual Surfing South Africa calendar. In the individual surfing categories, the youngest winners were Zia Hendricks of Nelson Mandela Bay and Kai Hall of eThekweni, who won the Under 9 Girls and Boys Divisions respectively. The Under 11 Girls and Boys Champions were Aimee du Preez of Buffalo City and Luke Van Wyk of Cape Town. Kayla Nogueira of eThekweni won the Under 13 Girls title while Mitch du Preez of Buffalo City was the Under 13 Boys Division winner. The Under 15 Girls gold medal went the way of Brittany Gadd of eThekweni with team mate Anthony Pottow, taking honours in the Under 15 Boys Final. Brayden Bergset of eThekweni won the Da Kine Youthful Movement Award and Daniel Emslie of Buffalo City was named as the Surfer of the Contest. The full results and a gallery of photos will be posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za The SA Grommet Games is a national tournament with a primary focus on transformation and development within the sport. Strict criteria must be followed when selecting teams for the four days of competition. While the main focus of the event is on surfing, participation in events such as a Paddle Battle, Beach Flags and Tag Team contest are an integral part of the Grommet Games activities. All images Petronel Posthumus RESULTS : 2015 BILLABONG SA GROMMET GAMES
SURFING U9 Girls 1st Zia Hendricks NMB 2nd Anastasia Venter CW 3rd Courtney Linke NMB 4th Cassidy Mussel CT 5th Kadence Ribbink ETK U9 Boys 1st Kai Hall ETK 2nd Josh Van Wyk CT 3rd Julian Carbonel ETK 4th Callum Emslie BC U11 Girls 1st Aimee du Preez BC 2nd Luanne Hurst CT 3rd Shayla - May Wallace ETK 4th Josie Venter BC U11 Boys 1st Luke Van Wyk CT 2nd Daniel Emslie BC 3rd Benjamin Ribbink ETK 4th Nathan Cayley ETK U13 Girls 1st Kayla Nogueira ETK 2nd Summer Sutton CT 3rd Emma Grey CT 4th Kealla Pratt ED U13 Boys 1st Mitch du Preez BC 2nd Brayden Bergset ETK 3rd Travis Pearce CT 4th Sebastian Van der Merwe BC U15 Girls 1st Brittany Gadd ETK 2nd Maya Sheffer – Boswell CT 3rd Courtney Fletcher NMB 4th Casey Mussel CT U15 Boys 1st Anthony Pottow ETK 2nd Ethan Row CT 3rd Maxime Gadeyne CT 4th Jesse Christie NMB 2015 GROMMET GAMES ACADEMY SQUAD ( individuals recognized for their surfing performances at the Grommet Games) U15 BOYS Anthony Pottow (ETK), Ethan Row (CT), Maxima Gadeyne (CT),Jesse Christie (NMB), Lele Zozi (CT),Museeh Khan (ETK) U15 GIRLS Brittany Gadd (ETK),Maya Sheffer- Boswell (CT),Casey Mussel (CT) U13 BOYS Mitch du Preez (BC),Brayden Bergset (ETK),Zahier Stuurman (CT), Seluleko Cele (ETK) U13 GIRLS Kayla Nogueira (ETK),Summer Sutton (CT), Rachel Alexander (CW) U11 BOYS Daniel Emslie (BC),Luke van Wyk (CT) TEAM RESULTS : MANDELA BAY TROPHY FOR THE OVERALL EVENT CHAMPIONS 1st Cape Town 37681 2nd eThekweni 29921 3rd Nelson Mandela Bay 27097 4th Cape Winelands 19491 5th Buffalo City 18060 6th Eden 15723 TAG TEAM 1st Cape Town 2nd Buffalo City 3rd Nelson Mandela Bay 4th eThekwini SURFING TROPHY Cape Town TEAM SPIRIT AWARD eThekweni SURFER OF THE CONTEST Daniel Emslie Buffalo City DA KINE YOUTHFULL MOVEMENT AWARD Brayden Bergset eThekweni JUDGES HEAT WINNER Merrick Fairall JUDGING RECOGNITION AWARD Kia Fenton BEACH FLAGS U9 & U11 Girls 1st Rentia Lotolla Eden 2nd Tanna Smith eThekweni 3rd Kadence Ribbink eThekweni 4th Tanith Moreton Nelson Mandela Bay U13 & U15 Girls 1st Summer Sutton Cape Town 2nd Emma Grey Cape Town 3rd Casey Mussel Cape Town 4th Georgia Sun Cape Winelands U9 & U11 Boys 1st Luke Van Wyk Cape Town 2nd Byron Emslie Buffalo City 3rd Reagon Roman Cape Town 4th CJ Posthumous Nelson Mandela Bay U13 & U15 Boys 1st Brayden Bergset eThekweni 2nd Alifa Mwanzi eThekweni 3rd Spe Shangase eThekweni 4th Garrick Hugo Cape Winelands PADDLE BATTLE Girls 1st Summer Sutton Cape Town 2nd Maya Sheffer –Boswell Cape Town 3rd Casey Mussel Cape Town 4th Emma Grey Cape Town Boys 1st Garrick Hugo Cape Winelands 2nd Daniel Love Cape Winelands 3rd Travis Pearce Cape Town 4th Jesse Christie Nelson Mandela Bay  Jeffreys Bay - Billabong South Africa Marketing Manager Chad D'Arcy has announced their surf event schedule for 2015. Comprising Grom Games, PST and WSL Pro Junior events and SA Junior Champs, Billabong South Africa is once again set to deliver a full competitive program for the junior competition surfers of our country.
The year started off with the Billabong SA Interclub Championships supported by Sport and Recreation SA. Held at Kitchen Windows in JBay, the event was won by the Seal Point Boardriders Club from CYOH Surf Club of Port Elizabeth. A fun event, highlights can be watched here www.youtube.com/watch The program continues with the Billabong Grommet Games, set to take place at Pollock Beach in Port Elizabeth from Tuesday March 31st to Friday April 4th. It is the 23rd edition of the Grommet Games and the 7th year of sponsorship from Billabong. It is a transformative and development tournament that gives young surfers from around the country an opportunity to compete for their respective districts. Close on 100 surfers representing six districts out of three provinces will participate. The next event on the Billabong calendar will be the first event in the 2015 Billabong Junior series presented by BOS, with this event being held at Magnatubes in JBay. The event will have a waiting period from 13-17 July, and takes place during the JBay Winterfest. The second leg of the Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS is set to take place at Seal Point, Cape St Francis from 25 to 27 September. This event will conclude the Junior Series, and will determine series winners, but is not the end of Billabong's involvement in junior surfing for the year. Billabong South Africa are proud to announce that they will be the new sponsors of the Billabong SA Junior Champs, set to take place at Lower Point, JBay from 30 September to 4 October. This five-day event has historically scored excellent waves, and everyone is looking forward to this contest. "Billabong is very pleased to be able to sponsor the SA Junior Champs this year," said Chad D'Arcy. "Junior surfing is a very important part of our brand DNA, and the SA Junior Champs sits perfectly within this ideology. We're also happy to be hosting a Pro Junior event at Magnatubes during the JBay Winterfest. It's the first time in recent history that Magnas has been used as a venue for an event of this stature, and we're sure that it will deliver excellent surf for the juniors."  The Billabong SA Grom Games started on Monday at Pipe. Loads of stoked lighties from all over the country have come to make their possie on the sand at Pollok beach, and are ready to rip whatever Neptune dishes up. Conditions were pretty tricky on Day 1 thanks to a stonking east, but the kids have such a huge froth factor they can get amped to surf anything. Even had the local dolphin pod pass through to check out what was happening. Here's some shots of the first day's action & the opening function. All images thanks to Petronel Posthumus.  The second stop on the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, got underway today and ran through the opening seven heats of Men's Round 1 in three foot surf. Top seeds Kelly Slater (USA) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) won through Round 1 while Mick Fanning (AUS) suffered a shock defeat at the hands of wildcard Mason Ho (HAW). 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) stormed through his Round 1 heat today. The four-time Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach winner took on Sebastian Zietz (HAW) and rookie Ricardo Christie (NZL). Slater dominated the match-up, using his experience to claim two 8-point rides, the highest heat total of the day and a place in Round 3. “I watched a couple of heats before to try and judge which waves were the best ones,” said Slater. “I didn’t catch my wave until 10 minutes but it was a pretty good wave and then I was in sync for the good ones. The tradition here at Bells, winning the trophy and the history here all make it so special. You put everything on the line to try and win here.”  Reigning WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) came out on top over two exciting up-and-coming Australians -- 2014 CT Rookie Matt Banting plus trials winner Joe Van Dijk, who is the 16-year-old brother of Women’s CT campaigner Nikki Van Dijk. Medina’s class and composure was the difference as all surfers showed flashes of brilliance, but it was Medina who locked in two good scores to take the win. “Today isn’t typical Bells, we’re surfing up at Rincon which can be hard to surf so I’m stoked to win that heat,” Medina said. “I’ve got a good board for this wave and I’m feeling good, that’s about all you can do. It’s really hard to win this event, especially against all the regular-footers. All I can do is my best, hopefully I finish with a good result.” Wildcard Mason Ho (HAW) secured a win over defending event winner Mick Fanning (AUS) and Freddy Patacchia Jr. (HAW) in their Round 1 match-up today. Ho landed a clean, frontside aerial rotation to take out the defending the three-time World Champion in a close heat. The wildcard will move directly to Round 3 while Fanning and Patacchia will have to surf again in elimination Round 2. “I definitely went into the heat aiming to win,” said Ho. “It seemed like anyone could have won that heat but I got lucky. I’m bummed I didn’t get a really good back up score but it’s been challenging out there today. It’s challenging out there, it was slow and not breaking in the same place as this morning.”  Frenchman Jeremy Flores (FRA) put together a strong heat against Taj Burrow (AUS) and Brazilian rookie Wiggolly Dantas (BRA). After a disappointing season last year Flores posted two solid scores in a back-and-forth battle with the Brazilian. Flores surfed well throughout the match-up to claim his first heat win of the year while Burrow, last year’s event runner up, and Dantas will surf again in Round 2. “It was tough out there today and Rincon is a totally different wave to The Bowl,” said Flores. “I guess I got the better waves in that heat and I surfed them. It feels really good to get a win.” John John Florence (HAW) sailed through his Round 1 heat against rookie Italo Ferreira (BRA) and tour veteran C.J. Hobgood (USA). Florence posted a solid score early in the heat and backed it up with a stylish frontside air reverse at the halfway mark to leave his opponents trailing. “Every year I look forward to coming here and I’d love to win this event some day,” Florence said. “That Bell, the trophy, is insane. It’s probably one of the best trophies on tour. It’s an amazing wave too, unpredictable and powerful.” Other winners today include South Africa's Jordy Smith (ZAF) and American Brett Simpson (USA) who both earned their place in Round 3.  Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.33, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 11.73, Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.63 Heat 2: Brett Simpson (USA) 15.00, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.33, Kai Otton (AUS) 6.00 Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.67, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.06, Ricardo Christie (NZL) 7.73 Heat 4: John John Florence (HAW) 15.33, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 11.47, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 10.17 Heat 5: Mason Ho (HAW) 13.13, Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.10, Freddy Patacchia Jr. (HAW) 13.00 Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.76, Matt Banting (AUS) 11.83, Joe Van Dijk (AUS) 8.23 Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.33, Keanu Asing (HAW) 13.44, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.20 Upcoming Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 1 Match-ups: Heat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF), Nat Young (USA), Dusty Payne (HAW) Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Glenn Hall (IRL) Heat 10: Josh Kerr (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS) Heat 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Owen Wright (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA) Heat 12: Julian Wilson (AUS), Kolohe Andino (USA), Matt Wilkinson (AUS) Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Round 1 Match-ups: Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), Laura Enever (AUS) Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Silvana Lima (BRA), Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Dimity Stoyle (AUS), Pauline Ado (FRA) Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW), Alessa Quizon (HAW) Heat 5: Tyler Wright (AUS), Johanne Defay (FRA), Sage Erickson (USA) Heat 6: Lakey Peterson (USA), Courtney Conlogue (USA), Coco Ho (HAW) |
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August 2021
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