A memorable end to the 2011 ASP World Tour season for Kieren Perrow
After a series of exciting battles over the course of three days, the 11th stop of 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour and the third and final leg of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy
Irons, came down to the mother of all battles, the Final, pitting Australia’s Kieren Perrow against his fellow countryman Joel Parkinson at the famed North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Saturday afternoon, December 10.
While the confrontation between the two Australians was expected to be pretty intense, it turned out to be a one-sided contest with Perrow taking a comfortable win over Parkinson to take home his maiden elite tour event title.
The 34-year-old Perrow had been simply sensational during the final stop of the ASP Dream Tour, following one solid performance with another to steadily make his way into the Final of the event. The waves on offer had been a source of trouble for even the
most skilled and experienced of surfers, but the Australian had done extremely well to adjust his surfing according to the conditions, a feat that served to give him an edge over his rivals.
The journey to the final of the competition had not been any less impressive for Parkinson either. The 30-year-old Gold Coast-native had shown good presence of mind while under immense pressure during his heats. One of the biggest confidence boosts for Parkinson
was his outstanding victory over America’s Kelly Slater in an intense Semi-final clash.
Perrow was expected to receive a really tough time from Parkinson during the Final, as the latter was proving himself to be a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Once the Final got under-way, Perrow wasted absolutely no time in asserting his dominance in the heat and locked a wave in the opening minutes to post a 7.00 on the score-board. He immediately followed it up with another impressive effort, this time adding
a 6.17 to his account and consequently moving to a heat-total of 13.17 points.
Parkinson had managed to overcome so many challenges over the last few days in extremely demanding waves, but was unable to repeat the feat while facing his countryman in the Final. He got off to a slow start and was never really able to find rhythm. In
the end, he was only able to get to a heat-total of 7.00 points, which comprised of a 4.17 and 2.83-point wave. The lacklustre effort by Parkinson forced him to surrender victory and thus the event-title to Perrow.
Talking to the media after the Final, an overjoyed Perrow said, “It took me up until now to get over getting second to Jeremy last year. It’s so good to get back here. I just felt so comfortable the whole time. I’ve had such a great event anyway and coming
in to today, it was just amazing. The waves have been phenomenal. I haven’t surfed Pipe like that in my entire career. This is pretty much the pinnacle for me.”
Parkinson, the three-time Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Champion, remained deprived of his first Billabong Pipe Masters Title for yet another year, though he surely gave it his all to try and make it happen for him this time. It had indeed been a treat to
watch his performance throughout the year, which allowed him to finish over-all 2nd in the end-of season ASP World Title Rankings.
On the other hand, Perrow ended 15th in the ASP World Title rankings at the end of the season. The season had not started off great for the Australian, but he managed to cap it off with success. It would be interesting to see how well he performs
when he returns to pursue the most prestigious title in men’s surfing next year.
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