Mourning Fanning misses out on world ‘surfing’ title
De Souza keeps crown
LOS ANGELES, Dec 18, (AFP): Australian star Mick Fanning, mourning the sudden death of his brother, was denied an emotional fourth world surfing crown as Adriano de Souza kept the title in Brazilian hands on Thursday.
Fanning, 34, who survived a shark attack on live TV in July, dropped to second in the standings after an emotional appearance at the season-ending Pipe Masters in Hawaii.
Fanning, who learned about his brother’s death during the competition, lost in the semis to Brazil’s Gabriel Medina, a result which handed the title to de Souza.
De Souza, who beat Medina in the final, paid tribute to Fanning, calling him a “true champion” for his bravery in the face of adversity this year.
Fanning’s brother Peter died in his sleep in Australia, according to reports. Another of Fanning’s brothers, Sean, died in a car accident in 1998.
The latest tragedy capped a traumatic year for Fanning, who made headlines energy that accompanied him in Hawaii.
“The energy has been amazing, walking down almost in tears every time I’m coming down,” Fanning told a TV interviewer.
“A friend told me once we can deal with anything. Stay true to yourself and things will happen.”
Australian media also paid tribute to Fanning despite his loss, saying he “stands stall among World Surf League rivals” and calling him a “champion for the ages”.
Fanning had beaten 11-time world champion Kelly Slater in the quarterfinals before he was eliminated by Medina.
De Souza finished atop the championship standings with 57,700 points, with Fanning second on 54,650 and Medina third on 51,600.
Adriano de Souza holds up his trophy after winning the surfing Pipeline Masters event of the Vans Triple Crown at Ehukai Beach Park in
Haleiwa, Hawaii, on Dec 17. (AFP)
the course, there were soon three purpleclad Norwegians in the leaders’ spots.
It was the 29th World Cup win for Svindal, tying him with Stephan Eberharter for ninth on the all-time list.
Kilde finished 13th in the super-G at last year’s Sochi Olympics, and matched his best previous result by finishing seventh in the super-G in Beaver Creek, Colorado, this month.
In the overall standings, Svindal moved within 23 points of leader Marcel Hirscher. Jansrud is third, 193 points behind the Austrian.
Hirscher did not race despite winning the previous super-G in Beaver Creek. American Ted Ligety also didn’t enter, since the course doesn’t favor technical specialists.
Despite finishing 21st in Beaver Creek two weeks ago, Svindal still has an 80point lead over Mayer in the super-G standings, with Kilde 88 points back in third.
Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer of Austria finished fourth, missing the podium by 0.10.
Brice Roger of France was on course for a solid result when he lost control and fell. He got right up and appeared uninjured.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Lara Gut pipped American speed queen Lindsey Vonn to victory by 0.01 seconds in Friday’s World Cup super-combined race at Val d’Isere, denying Vonn a fifth straight win.
Gut trailed Vonn by .38 after the morning’s downhill run, but the 24-year-old overturned the deficit in the slalom to claim her second win of the season and 14th career World Cup victory.
“I’ve done quite well here (with two wins and four podiums). I was quick in the downhill and all that was left was to ski well in the slalom,” said Gut, who also won a 2012 downhill event at the French resort.
Austrian Michaela Kirchgasser finished third, posting the fastest time in the slalom, to earn her first podium finish in almost two years.