Medina hits form in Fiji
Brazilian takes title at Cloudbreak, rises to No 2 in rankings
GABRIEL Medina moved into contention for a second surfing world title when he defeated rankings leader Matt Wilkinson, of Australia, in the final of the Fiji Pro in testing 3m to 3.5m waves at Cloudbreak yesterday.
The 22-year-old prodigy, who became the first world champion from Brazil in 2014, was unbeatable in the treacherously hollow triple-overhead waves, racking up victories over compatriot Adriano de Souza and Kelly Slater, of the US, on his way to the final and a second Fiji Pro title.
The win earned Medina R1.5 million and 10 000 points, which saw him jump from ninth to second in the world rankings heading into the next Championship Tour event, the J-Bay Open, which runs from July 6-17 at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay.
Wilkinson, who won the opening two events of the year before suffering early exits at Margaret River and in Brazil, consolidated his position at the top of the leader board with his runner-up finish and will continue to wear the yellow jersey at J-Bay.
Jordy Smith, the top points scorer in round one of the event, was defeated by Slater in round three and dropped three places to No 10. The South African will be hoping to bounce back into contention at Supertubes, his favourite wave and where he won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. JEFFREYS Bay surfer and musician Steven Sawyer upset the favourites in the JBU Supertrial last weekend when he secured a coveted wild card into the R8m J-Bay Open.
Sawyer handled the perfect 2m to 2.5m waves at Supertubes with aplomb, pulling into deep tubes and carving huge turns to finish at the head of the 24man field.
“Oh man, this is one of the best things that has happened to me in, well, for ever. I am so stoked to be in the CT event, I’ve wanted to surf it ever since I was a little kid,” said Sawyer who is guaranteed prize money of R135 000 even if he loses his first two heats. A 12-DAY festival of world-class surfing action at Ballito will start on Wednesday with the Billabong Junior Series events for the country’s top under-18, under-16 and under-14 boys and girls, as well as the under-12 boys.
The junior event runs from Wednesday to Saturday, with the winner and runner-up in the under-18 boys division earning spots in the SSA Ballito Pro Trials next Sunday, when the winner will earn a spot in the R4m, QS 10 000-rated Ballito Pro.
The QS 1 000-rated Ballito Women’s Pro will start next Sunday and run in conjunction with the men’s event from Monday to Sunday, June 27 to July 3.
There will be plenty of beach action during the festival, including extreme sports demos, beach soccer, a cooking competition and three nights of free music concerts at Salt Rock. See theballitopro.co.za.