Ian Gentil and Tom Whitaker stand tall following Round 2 success at Vans World Cup of Surfing
Hawaii’s Ian Gentil and Australia’s Tom Whitaker emerged triumphant in their respective Round 2 (Round of 96) heats at the Vans World Cup of Surfing, second jewel on the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which resumed at Sunset Beach
in Oahu, Hawaii, on Friday, November 30, 2012.
While Gentil claimed top honours in the first heat, Brazil’s Jean da Silva finished behind him in second place. Both the surfers consequently made their way through into the next round. Australia’s Dion Atkinson and Hawaii’s Kai Barger, who skipped the heat,
had to settle for the third and fourth positions respectively, which resulted in their elimination from the competition.
The second concluded with Whitaker on top, while Hawaii’s Alex Smith finished just behind him in second place. Both the surfers secured their spot in the next round as a result. Brazil’s Wiggolly Dantas and Guadeloupe’s Charles Martin rounded out the bottom-two
positions, which removed them from the contention for the event title.
With the surf looking deadly than ever, the surfers found themselves staring at a demanding task of taming the challenging conditions to put a couple of decent scores on the board.
The opening heat saw Gentil put on an impressive performance to down Da Silva, Atkinson and Barger.
Slightly more familiar to the waves than his rivals, Gentil navigated his way to a couple of really good waves, which he utilised to post a 7.17 and 5.03 points to the score-board for a heat-total of 12.20 points.
Da Silva made the Round 2 heat as well after securing runner-up place with a heat-total of 9.74 points, which included a 5.07 and 4.67-point wave.
Atkinson finished third with a heat-total of 8.40 points, while Barger, who was unable to compete in the heat, ended up taking bottom position.
The second heat saw Whitaker walk away with a win after getting the better of Smith, Dantas and Martin.
The Australian surfer got off to a confident start, posting 8.90 to his account off his first business-wave. He went on to add an additional 2.93 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 11.83 points.
Smith was nothing short of impressive either, getting to a heat-total of 11.23 with the help of a 7.33 and 3.90-point ride. The effort proved sufficient to take him through into the next round.
A heat-total of 10.00 and 7.74 points by Dantas and Martin respectively resulted in their premature elimination from the competition.
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