Gabriel Medina unleashes true potential to nail victory in Round 2 heat at Volcom Fiji Pro
Gabriel Medina from Brazil claimed a comprehensive victory over Australia’s Yadin Nicol in the sixth heat of Volcom Fiji Pro’s Round 2 that went down at the primary event site of Cloudbreak in Tavarua, Fiji, on Monday, June 4.
The success in Round 2 served to carry Medina into the third round, whereas Nicol found himself eliminated from the contention for the title at the fourth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship series.
The surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site on the second day of the competition turned out to be quite ideal, promising a heavy dose of exciting action as the surfers competed against each other for survival in four-to-six foot waves that
were on offer. The failure to perform well in Round 1 had relegated more than half the competition field to Round 2, where they were to compete in man-on-man battles for survival.
The sixth heat of Round 2 pitted Medina against Nicol in a battle for the Round 3 spot. Both the surfers had failed to do well during their Round 1 heat. Medina in particular had been looking out of rhythm since the start of the season. The 18-year-old Brazilian
sensation had made a huge impact near the end of the 2011 ASP World Tour, but was failing to do justice to all the hype that surrounded his first complete elite tour season.
As if getting hit by the realisation of the injustice that he had been doing to his repute, Medina stepped up and reminded everyone what he was capable of during his Round 2 clash against Nicol.
As the battle got underway, Medina detected a mammoth-sized forehand barrel and charged towards it to unleash a string of powerful turns, compelling the judges to punctuate the effort with a perfect 10. He went on to back it up with a 6.67-point ride, eventually
finishing with a heat-total of 16.67 points.
“That was sick,” Medina said during his post-heat interview. “I’m stoked to get that 10 and make the heat. I’m having a lot of fun. I didn’t know I was going to make it on that one and I just went for it. This is my second time to Fiji and I heard there
is a swell coming. I think it would be fun if they ran at Restaurants too.”
Nicol failed to offer an efficient response to his rival’s onslaught and only managed to get to a heat-total of 9.37 points, which comprised of a 6.67 and 2.70-point ride. As a result, he was sent packing from the latest edition of Volcom Fiji Pro.
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