Kelly Slater Wins Volcom Fiji Pro, Mick Fanning Takes ASP Ratings’ Lead
CLOUDBREAK, Tavarua/Fiji (Monday, June 11, 2012) – 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), 18, 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.
Slater wasted no time in the Final against his young opponent, grabbing an 8.33 and a 9.83 in the opening half of the bout to put Medina on the ropes. The Brazilian, however, would not back down, claiming an 8.60 to put himself back in the hunt. Slater limited his scoreline to his two opening rides, and it proved enough for the Floridian to scalp the win as well as his first man-on-man victory over Medina.
“It’s about time I got him,” Slater said. “He had my number in the back half of last year and he’ll probably go on to beat everyone for the next 20 years. He can do it all and I think he proved that to a lot of people this week at Restaurants and out here at Cloudbreak.”
Slater sent his first shots across the bow today during the Semifinals when the phenomenal natural-footer posted his second Perfect 10 of the event for a series of deep tube rides and critical turns.
“That’s probably the best I could surf out here,” Slater said. “The barrel and the turn sections just lined up for me and I was able to do what I did. That was a perfect canvas for me.”
After an absence at the previous event in Rio de Janeiro, Slater’s win in Fiji bolts him up from 8th to 2nd on the ASP World Championship Tour ratings.
“I think everyone who competes on tour is here to win,” Slater said. “If you’re winning events, then you’re winning world titles. At this point in my career, I’m probably more focused on surfing well though. The waves just pumped today. Some guys win, some guys lose, but everyone is happy if the waves are good.”
Medina’s Runner-Up finish at the Volcom Fiji Pro rockets the young goofy-footer from 29th to 13th on the elite ASP World Championship Tour ratings.
“I’m pretty happy with my result,” Medina said. “The waves here have been so good all week and it has been a great trip. I haven’t had the best season in terms of results but I’m very happy to make the Final and congrats to Kelly (Slater) – he was surfing amazing all event.”
Mick Fanning (AUS), 30, two-time ASP World Champion, has taken over the ASP WCT ratings’ lead with his Equal 3rd place finish at the Volcom Fiji Pro. A standout performer throughout the event, even having a crack at Cloudbreak during Friday’s mega swell, Fanning was unable to find a rhythm in this morning’s Semifinal bout with Medina.
“Found myself on the wrong side of the rhythm this morning,” Fanning said. “It’s a bummer, but those heats happen. The ratings’ lead is great, but it’s so early in the season that it doesn’t necessarily mean anything at this point. That said, I’m feeling good and feel like I’m surfing well so I’m pumped.”
C.J. Hobgood (USA), 32, who along with his brother Damien are both hugely respected for their prowess in Fijian waters, went on a tear in his Quarterfinal bout against Adriano de Souza (BRA), 25, this morning, scoring a 9.97 in the dying moments to advance through to the Quarterfinals.
“It was a blessing that wave came and it did,” Hobgood said. “I knew Adriano (de Souza) was going to post huge scores and he did. I wasn’t on my game at first. I should have sat up top and Adriano had me on the ropes. He’s been surfing so well this year and I don’t think he’s had a worse event than the Semis. That wave came and I just put my head down. That feeling when they read out the score, it just feels good.”
Hobgood’s momentum, however, would run out in the Semifinals against eventual winner Slater. His Equal 3rd place finish moves him from 15th to 12th on the ASP World Championship Tour ratings.
Highlights from the Volcom Fiji Pro will be available at www.volcom.com/fijipro
The next stop on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour will be the Billabong Pro Teahupoo from August 16 – 27, 2012.
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
VOLCOM FIJI PRO FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 18.16
2 – Gabriel Medina (BRA) 10.87
VOLCOM FIJI PRO SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.93 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 6.57
SF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.50 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.50
VOLCOM FIJI PRO REMAINING QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.57 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 7.76
QF 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.14 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.76
CURRENT ASP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR TOP 5 (After Volcom Fiji Pro):
1. Mick Fanning (AUS) 24,750 pts
2. Kelly Slater (USA) 23,700 pts
3. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 23,700 pts
4. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 22,400 pts
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 20,950 pts
Comments
Category: All ASP News, ASP World Tour News
Slater can’t get any better can he.
It is easy for critics back home and on the web to get emotional over scoring. The reason why ‘public’ comments are really meaningless is because we don’t know the criteria the judges have set – what they are looking for. You can’t just add together a collection of turns, aerials etc and say that each has a particular component score – and then make up a total. If an ‘air’ scores 2 points – and that is all that the wave featured – you would have some bizarre scores. If you did that – which some may like – you would end up with some wave scores that are more than 10 if there were 6 or 8 moves, hacks, cutbacks etc.. If we start by saying that every wave score is in a range from zero to a 10, then the judges have to start scoring each heat and wave score against a benchmark score they think is going to be possible. In the Kelly / CJ semi final, who the hell was expecting what Kelly did with that 10 score? Logic says that this wave was actually worth more than a 10 – a 12 or maybe more. No system is perfect, but we have to understand and expect that when the final waves are being scored by the judges in a heat, they have to look back and probably adjust the final wave score if, in their opinion, surfer X did best overall.
On the point about Adriano, let’s imagine if someone was in the lineup on your local break and behaved aggressively towards you and others? How would you feel? Part of the issue is that we don’t need aggression in competitions and not at your home break either. We should do all we can to stamp it out. If we condone such aggression and unsporting behaviour in a contest, then the kids and groms will copy that and perhaps do that to you! Surfing should be about how an artist paints a canvas with the waves offered. The best thing about the Kelly / CJ semi was they they just ‘went surfing’. Perhaps the concept of a surfer getting ‘priority’ is actually a bad thing? Discuss!
kelly’s surfing was amazing, but why he had to talk disrespectfully like that about adriano, even CJ let that go… Martin Potter, kelly’s inspiration, was way more agressively in the paddle hassle than adriano, michael petersen too. since this no loser round started everyone is making that strategy, but when adriano and other brazilians do they are treated as monsters. after slater humiliated adriano in puerto rico 2010, the judges put adriano 5 or 6 times in interference situation on his next events, and i will count how many times he and and other brazilians will have on their heats after this “comment” that slater did.thanks for the attention sorry for the english
it already started, on the chilean event at the quarters, brazilian ian gouveia just got interference by doing nothing, and loosing the heat by 0.05 after the interference call…
i got wrong on the last comment, ian gouveia’s second wave was tottally annuled, and i just saw brazilians on that situation in this year (filipe toledo at newcastle), even though i had seen several times the hawaiians making exactly the same paddle estrategy on their events and never got interferences calls. thanks for the attention , sorry for the english
Get a life…
Actually I thought the judging was very good for this contest. The guys who are saying Kelly got over scored, or Joel this or Taj that.. don’t have the eye for detail and criticality that the judges displayed in this contest.
Judges, keep up the good work..
Medina is 18, not 19.
Thanks to everyone who spotted the typo error for Gabriel’s age, it has been corrected in the release.
Slater overscored in final and joel(underscored)vs taj(superoverscored)in 5 round ! WHAT A SHAME !!
Would just like to say this event was insane..kelly doing things that were f’n impossible.. were you trying to get yourself a speeding ticket out there? i think i saw the airbags pop out after that hack you did into the lip after that speed carve, 60 – 0mph in .1 seconds, what a legend.
Kelly, Julian, you guys are absolute shredding machines.. ever thought about making a surf DVD together…get Red Bull to do the editing and music, high def.. would be sick..
I think Gabriel Medina is 18 and not 19. Please, check that.
Great contest! Looking forward to the next one!
Actually Medina is 18!!
no doubt about kelly’s victory, but he had lots of overscored waves that makes me really sad. he would win all heats anyway, but sometimes the judges helped him when he doesnt need. both scores at the final was overscored… that first score at the final wasnt a 8 something and that second one wasnt a 9 at all. he would win wiht a couple 7′s, but its different when you are sitting out there looking for a high 9 when you should are looking for a 7! my opinion!
Congrats Slater!!! But you should keep your thoughts to yourself. Some respect to your fellow competitors.
Which comments are you talking about? The ones where Adriano acted like a 2 year old when someone was about to take his waves?