Cloudbreak, Tavarua, Fiji – Kelly Slater (USA), 40, reigning 11-time ASP World Champion, claimed his 49th elite tour victory today, taking out the Volcom Fiji Pro over Gabriel Medina (BRA), 19, in pumping four-to-six foot (1.5 – 2 metre) surf at Cloudbreak.
Event No. 4 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour, the Volcom Fiji Pro culminated in exciting fashion today, with Slater and Medina each pushing the limits of high-performance surfing at the famed, oceanic lefthander.
After yesterday’s full day of competition at pumping Restaurants, the Volcom Fiji Pro resumed today at six to eight foot Cloudbreak where round 5 kicked off just after 12pm.Â
The first heat of the day saw Mick Fanning execute some viscous backhand turns right out of the gates against Damien Hobgood. As the heat winded down Damien was in need of a solid score as he fought to stay alive. With minutes left, Hobgood locked into a good tube through the inside section but was unable to exit and Fanning advanced into the first quarterfinal.
Amazing performances were put forth in round 5—Taj Burrow took down current world #1 Joel Parkinson, Julian Wilson bested Owen Wright, and CJ Hobgood advanced against Brazil’s Heitor Alves.Â
Action resumed with the first two quarterfinal heats before the comp was called off due to increasing winds and an excellent outlook for tomorrow’s conditions. Before it was called off, Mick Fanning posted two high scores against John Florence. “I was just trying to play it smart out there” said Two Time World Champion Mick Fanning, “Once I got that first score I just wanted to keep building from there and put the pressure on John. The kid is phenomenal and by far the most dangerous person in the world at the moment.”Â
In the last heat of the day, Gabriel Medina got the better of Taj Burrow, making his way into semifinal number one where he will face Fanning.Â
The last two quarterfinal heats should resume tomorrow morning and we will see Kelly Slater vs. Julian Wilson as well as CJ Hobgood vs. Adriano De Souza to determine the second semifinal.
Volcom Fiji Pro Day 4 – Three Perfect 10 Point Rides as Restaurants fires for
round three and four.
Following one of the greatest big wave surfing days in history, at the world famous Cloudbreak, The Volcom Fiji Pro resumed this morning in quality four to six foot waves at Restaurants, the fringe reef off the island of Tavarua.
Australians Bede Durbidge and Taj Burrow kicked off Round 3 with both surfers executing deep barrel rides and vertical backside re-entrys, a sure sign of the day of surfing to come. In a cruel twist of fate, Bede’s heroics of the previous day counted for nothing as he was dispensed from the event by an on-fire Burrow.
As the day progressed, the wave quality improved with every heat and the world’s best surfers lifted the bar. Standouts included Damien Hobgood (USA), Mick Fanning (AUS), Gabriel Medina (BRZ) Joel Parkinson (AUS), Kelly Slater (USA), Heitor Alves (BRZ), and Owen Wright (AUS). But the highlight of Round three came when sentimental event favorite CJ Hobgood scored the days first perfect 10, a deep draining double up barrel followed by a fearless floater above the razor sharp coral.
As the event then moved into the non-elimination Round 4, it was almost as if perfect rides were growing on the coconut palms that surround Tavarua. First John John Florence made his intentions for this event, and perhaps a rookie year World Title clear by threading one of the set waves of the day through the entire length of the inside reef for a 10 point ride.
Then a heat later 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater answered the youngster with an impossible line through six folding sections only to emerge to unanimous 10’s from the judges. Australia’s Owen Wright, who surfed against Kelly, would have won any other heat in the entire event but will now have to surf Round 5 tomorrow.
Day three of the Volcom Fiji Pro saw some of the largest waves Cloudbreak has ever seen. Though we were only able to get through 2 heats before the contest was called off, Volcom opted to continue to broadcast and cover the jaw-dropping free-surfing that was taking place. People watched history making waves Live around the world, complete with commentary and re-plays! Here are some of the highlights from the feed.