Gabriel Medina defeats Mitch Crews in Final to clinch 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro title
After featuring a series of exciting battles for a week, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro reached the final on Sunday, August 21, at Grande Plage in Lacanau Ocean, France.
Brazil’s Gabriel Medina came up with an exceptional performance to dominate Australia’s Mitch Crews and walk away with the title.
The 17-year-old Medina had shown an excellent form throughout the course of the competition, but he apparently saved his best for the last.
As the final kicked off, the Brazilian sensation got off to a great start, locking a wave to execute a series of impressive manoeuvres and collect 9.23 points for the effort. However, this turned out to be just a prelude to what was about to come. Locking
his second business wave, Medina pulled off a massive aerial-reverse, followed by carving turns through to the shore break, eventually capping the combo with another spectacular aerial manoeuvre.
The string of tricks left everyone at the site, including the judges, in awe. Earning a well-deserved perfect 10 for the incredible display of skill and style, the Brazilian finished with a heat-total of 19.23 points.
The 21-year-old Crews was left stunned after experiencing the onslaught by his rampaging rival. Despite collecting a couple of good scores and finishing with a heat-total of 15.36 points, the Australian was made to look like a weak opponent by his rival.
Talking to a reporter after the final, Medina said, “I feel so good, best feeling ever! I’m so happy to win one more time here and I want to thank my dad and all my family. It was a 40 minute heat so I was very comfortable out there. I was just trying to
have fun and I got two good waves.”
Crews admitted that he felt almost helpless during the final as the waves and wind favoured his goofy-footed opponent.
“There’s not much really I could do. He’s a goofy footer and the waves and wind favour the goofies today. He was going into big ramps and throwing big airs and spins. Basically I just needed to hope for a miracle, it was very hard for a natural footer to
do big airs on a left like this and generate speed,” he said.
Medina’s victory in the final made him the first surfer in the history of the Sooruz Lacanau Pro to walk away with top honours in both the 6-Star main event and Pro Junior event in the same year.
The Brazilian prodigy would soon be heading to Zarautz, Basque Country, to compete in the next 6-Star event, San Miguel Pro, which is scheduled to kick off from August 30.
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