Parko ready to light up the Pipe once more before retirement
THE prospect of a fourth Triple Crown of Surfing is fuelling Joel Parkinson’s final circuit of Hawaii after 18 years on tour.
The Gold Coast favourite, who won a world title in 2012 and was runner-up on four other occasions, will call it quits after next week’s seasonending Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii.
He says the nerves he used to feel before a World Surf League event are gone and he’s looking forward to becoming just another fan watching from the beach.
But the thought of bowing out with another Triple Crown title is enticing.
The Triple Crown is a series of three events surfed on a trio of Hawaii’s biggest breaks – two on the secondary tour and the finale at the championship tour’s Pipe Masters. Awarded to the best-performed surfer across all three events, he won three straight crowns between 2008-10.
Pursuit of a fourth started perfectly when the 37-year-old won the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa late last month.
Parkinson has backed it up by safely reaching the fourth round of the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach as the wait for a better swell continues.
It will likely all come down to how well he performs at Banzai Pipeline next week.
When Parkinson walks away from the tour, he will continue to work with sponsor Billabong and act as a mentor of sorts for young surfers.