Coleborn and Lacomare clinch victory in Quiksilver Saquarema Prime semi-finals – Surfing news
Australia’s Mitchel Coleborn and France’s Marc Lacomare won their respective semi-finals of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 2013 Quiksilver Saquarema Prime, which continued at Itauna beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday, May 26, 2013.
Coleborn got the win in the first semi-final by getting the better of Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro, consequently guaranteeing himself a shot at the title while removing his rival from the competition.
Lacomare, on the other hand, made his way into the final by downing Brazil’s Gabriel Medina. This added to the disappointment of the local fans that were following the event with the expectations of watching their countrymen advance into the final and walk
away with the prize, which included the coveted ASP Prime ranking points, as well as a huge share of the prize purse.
The conditions at the main event site on the final day of the competition were a contrast of what the surfers had to compete in during the early rounds of the competition. The three-to-foot waves had plenty of juice in them and thus promised to offer plenty
of potential scoring opportunities to the motivated surfers during their heats.
With both Coleborn and Monteiro looking in great touch over the last few days, it was difficult to pick a favourite prior to the commencement of the first semi-final.
Once the battle got underway, however, it became quite clear that the Australian surfer was in a much more formidable form than the local talent.
Coleborn remained on his toes throughout the course of the heat and managed to lock the best waves that appeared.
Earning an 8.43 off his first business-wave and backing it up with an 8.17-point ride, Coleborn finished with a heat-total of 16.60 points.
Monteiro, on the other hand, seemed a bit out of rhythm and only managed to get to a heat-total of 9.33 points, which included a 5.00 and 4.33-point ride.
The Brazilian surfer’s performance failed to meet the expectations of the crowd, but still earned him a standing ovation for making it into the semi-finals.
The second heat turned out to be a much more nail-biting contest, with both Lacomare and Medina breathing down each other’s neck until the end.
The French surfer took an early lead with an 8.00-point ride, but Medina managed to get on top of him with a couple of scores in the seven-point range, which took him to a heat-total of 14.46 points.
Lacomare trailed his rival for most part of the heat, but got hold of a great wave in the dying minutes to add a 6.80 to his account and consequently moving into the lead with a heat-total of 14.80 points.
With his lead holding up until the end, the French surfer successfully secured his place in the final, leaving the local favourite both shocked and disappointed.
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