Gabriel Medina and Raoni Monteiro prevail in Round 3 at O’Neill Coldwater Classic
Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and his fellow countryperson Raoni Monteiro emerged triumphant in their respective Round 3 heats at the O’Neill Coldwater Classic, the ninth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour,
which went down at Santa Cruz in California, America, on Sunday, November 4, 2012.
Medina got the better of America’s Taylor Knox in the third heat to make his way into the fourth round, bringing the competition to an end for his rival in the process.
The fourth heat saw South Africa’s Jordy Smith concede defeat to Monteiro, getting removed from the elite tour event while allowing his rival to step into the next round.
Pitted against each other in a man-on-man battle, both Medina and Knox were expected to give their hundred percent to try keeping themselves alive in the contention for the event title, since a loss meant elimination from the competition.
As the battle got underway, the 18-year-old Medina got off to a modest start, but continued to gain build momentum before eventually locking his first business-wave to post a 7.00 on the score-board.
The Brazilian surfer went on to unload a series of exquisite tricks on his second business-wave in the dying minutes of the heat, getting a 9.53 from the judges for the effort, to finish with a heat-total of 16.53 points.
Knox got off to a solid start, opening his account with an 8.50-point ride, but only managed to add an additional 6.27 to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 14.77 points.
“I just knew I needed a 7,” Medina said during the post-heat interview. “I saw the set coming and knew I was going to have a chance. I went for the air and made it, so I’m pretty stoked. Before my heat I was watching the waves and I saw the lefts were pretty
good, with a section at the end of the wave. The wind is good to do airs and I just went for it.”
The fourth heat saw Monteiro walk away with the win after scoring a 7.33 and 3.77 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 11.10 points against Smith’s heat-total of 10.23 points, which comprised of a 5.23 and 5.00-point ride.
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