Cory Lopez and Leandro Bastos survive Saquarema Surf Pro International round of 96
The fourth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event of the year, Saquarema Surf Pro International, continued at Itauna beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday, May 26th, with the seventh heat.
The heat featured America’s Cory Lopez and Nat Young, Brazil’s Leandro Bastos and Australia’s Davey Cathels. While Lopez remained the highlight of the heat due to his unbeatable performance, Bastos managed to finish in second place to extend his life in
the event and advance to round of 48, the next stage of the competition, along with the winner.
Cathels and Young found their stay in Saquarema Surf Pro International come to a premature end after finishing as the bottom two in the seventh heat.
The conditions at the beach-break of Itauna turned out to be really challenging, with three-to-five foot waves on offer. There was hardly any power in the waves as well, making it even more difficult for the surfers to go for their signature moves and technical
manoeuvres. This consequently led to the first day of the event testing the surfer’s experience along with their skills.
Among the four participants in the seventh heat, Lopez was the only one who managed to adjust to the tough waves really well. While the rest were struggling to find a good wave and execute something impressive, the American surfer was looking extremely comfortable
in the sea and throwing down amazing turns. He finished the contest in first place with a two-wave score of 16.64.
The battle between Bastos and Cathels turned out to be really intense with both surfers looking equally uncomfortable while trying to locate a good wave and throwing down tricks that were definitely not their best. In the end, Bastos ended up with a final
score of 11.70 to edge past his Australian rival, who finished with 11.57. This 0.13 point difference is what sent the Brazilian to the next round while marking the end of the road of Cathels.
Young, the young promising surfer from California, looked totally lost in the sea on Wednesday. Evidently struggling to find his rhythm and looking shaky, he only managed to earn himself a 9.17 after utilising his two waves. The poor effort and shaky performance
led to his getting eliminated from the competition.
While the tides have turned out to be low with small waves so far, the event organisers are hopeful that the conditions will improve as the day progresses.
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