Arashi Kato and Chase Wilson move into Round 3 of Billabong ASP World Junior Championships
Japan’s Arashi Kato defeated South Africa’s Michael February in the 13th heat, while America’s Chase Wilson got the better of Hawaii’s Keala Naihe in the 14th heat of Billabong Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Junior Championships’ Round 2 that went down at the Burleigh Heads in Gold Coast, Australia, on Tuesday, January 24.
Winning their respective Round 2 heats carried Kato and Wilson into the third round, while a second consecutive failure to clinch a successful result led to the elimination of February and Naihe from the competition.
The pressure of elimination was immense on Monday as the surfers competing in Round 2 found themselves standing on the edge, desperate to collect a win to stay alive in contention for the event title.
With windy three-foot swells on offer at the primary event site , Kato took on February in a man-on-man battle for survival. Both the surfers had failed to adjust to the conditions on the first day of the competition, but could not afford another hiccup.
As the heat kicked off, February took an early lead with a 5.67-point wave. The South African went on to back it up with a 4.83-point wave, moving to a heat-total of 10.50 points.
After getting off to a slow start, Kato begin his charge late in the battle. Locking his first business-wave after the mid-way stage, the Japanese posted a 5.73 on the score-board. Still trailing behind February with hardly any time left for the buzzer to go off, Kato locked his second business-wave to earn 6.17 points off it and thus take his heat-total to 11.90 points.
The 14th heat turned out to be a pretty exciting contest as Wilson and Naihe squared off for the Round 3 spot.
While Naihe remained busy throughout the heavy, going through a series of average-to-low wave scores before eventually settling for an 8.67-point wave, which comprised of a 5.00 and 3.67-point wave.
Wilson, on the other hand, only caught two waves, but managed to make the most off them. Earning 7.17 points off his first business-wave and following it up with a 5.43-point wave, the American finished with a decisive heat-total of 12.60 points, walking away with a dominating win.
The Billabong ASP World Junior Championships Gold Coast in the third and final event of ASP World Junior Tour and will determine the men’s and women’s 2011 ASP World Junior Champion.
Tags: