Mikey the man for national dreams
LENNOX Head’s Mikey McDonagh will help fly the flag for Australia at the World Junior Surfing Championships after an action-packed fourth day of competition.
On a day of upsets at Kiama, 10 heats in the men’s event were held before strong winds forced an early finish.
In what was one of the most heavily anticipated match-ups of the event thus far, Australia/ Oceania 2017 Junior QS Champion Reef Heazlewood came up against good friend and roommate Ocean Macedo in Heat 3 of Round 2 .
In 30 explosive minutes of action, Macedo and Heazlewood went toe-to-toe, boosting huge air-reverses and giant snaps in an attempt to move through to the third round.
When the heat boiled down, Macedo was able to claim the win by a 0.5 margin in what is surely the most bittersweet victories of his young career.
“That was definitely bittersweet, but it feels great to take that one out,” said Macedo.
“The dynamic in the house Reef and I are staying at was a little bit tense over the last few days, but nothing too bad really. But he’s a cool guy.”
McDonagh is next up in the heats, facing South Coast’s Lucas Wrice in an all-Aussie encounter.
The World Junior Championships at Bombo Beach run until Friday.
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