Coco Ho qualifies for the Quarter-final of Billabong Women’s Rio Pro – Surfing News
Hawaii’s Coco Ho secured his place in the Quarter-final of the Billabong Women’s Rio Pro, the fifth of seven stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Title Series, after prevailing in the nail-biting second heat of Round
3 that went down at the main venue of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, May 12.
Ho got the better of Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore and America’s Lakey Peterson to secure her place in the next stage of the competition, while forcing her two rivals into the elimination round to surf again for a place in the Quarter-finals.
After holding the first-two rounds of the competition at the alternate venue of Arpoador, the event organisers decided to move back to the Barra da Tijuca for the third round. The conditions prevailing at the primary event site did not turn out to be that
good, but the elite surfers still managed to deliver a heavy dose of excitement to the fans while pursuing the Quarter-final spot.
The second heat of Round 3 saw Gilmore squaring off with Ho and Peterson in a triple-threat battle for a direct jump into the Quarter-final without having to go through the fourth round.
Gilmore, former four-time ASP Women’s World Champion and current No.1 on the ASP Women’s World Title rankings, had been struggling with the consistency of her form since arriving in Brazil. She looked to be in a much-more promising form on day 4 of the competition,
though that did not do her much good while facing Ho.
The 21-year-old Hawaiian managed put on a superb performance in challenging one-to-two foot waves, scoring a 6.83 off her first business-wave and backing it up with an 8.57-point ride to finish with a heat-total of 15.40 points.
Gilmore responded to her rival solidly, collecting an impressive 8.00 off her first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat. However, she only managed to add an additional 7.07 points to her account, consequently finishing 0.33 points behind her
Hawaiian rival.
Peterson, ASP Women’s World Tour rookie, scored a 5.83 and 7.47 off her best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 13.30 points, thus finishing in third place. Both Peterson and Gilmore moved into the fourth round to surf again for another shot at the
Quarter-final spot.
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