Jack Freestone and Alan Jhones prevail while Joel Parkinson falters in Round 2 of Burton Toyota Pro
Australia’s Jack Freestone and Brazil’s Alan Jhones took top honours in the last-two heats of Round 2 (Round of 96) of the Association of Surfing Professionals (AS) Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued at Merewether Beach in New South
Wales, Australia, on Thursday, March 15.
Both Freestone and Jhones made their way into the next round (Round of 48) after a successful skirmish in Round 2. Australia’s Mitch Crews and Shane Holmes also extended their life in the event after taking first runner-up place in the 23rd and
24th heat respectively, while their compatriot and the 2011 ASP World Tour Runner-up Joel Parkinson got eliminated, leaving everyone shocked.
The shapely two-to-three foot waves on offer at Merewether Beach put the skills and experience of the world’s best surfers that had converged to the ASP 6-Star event to take a shot at the handsome winning prize cheque and coveted ASP rating points.
Freestone and Crews put on a thrilling show for the local fans during the 23rd heat as they battled it out for top honours. The contest went down to the wire, with both the surfers keeping each other under immense pressure.
Freestone drew first blood with a superb 7.50-point wave to grab an early lead and went on to add an additional 6.13 points to his account for a heat-total of 13.63 points.
Crews, on the other hand, started off modestly, but gradually built momentum to eventually unleash a flurry of aerials on his first business-wave to post a 7.53 on the score-board. Finding himself in requirement of another good score, the Australian surfer
started his determined hunt, but to no avail. He eventually had to settle for runner-up place after finishing with a heat-total of 13.40 points. Both the surfers got rewarded for their efforts by getting their places confirmed in the next round.
“I was looking at the results at which heat I would go into and I saw that I either had Mitch [Crews] or Parko [Joel Parkinson],” Freestone said. “So either way I knew I had a tough heat on my hands. That’s the first heat I’ve had with Mitch for a long time
and it’s awesome that we both got through. We’re great mates, we travel together and we’re moving into the same house soon too.”
Hawaii’s Granger Larsen and Brazil’s Bruno Rodrigues remained overshadowed due to the intense fight battle taking place between their Australian rivals during the heat. Larsen finished in third place with a heat-total of 9.63 points, while Rodrigues had
to settle for fourth place with a heat-total of 4.33 points. Both the surfers got eliminated from the event as a result.
The final heat of Round 2 featured a huge upset as Jhones and Holmes pushed Parkinson to third place to eliminate him from the contention for the event title.
Jhones secured first place with a heat-total of 13.83 points, which comprised of a 7.50 and 6.33-point wave, while Holmes took runner-up place with a two-wave total of 13.17 points.
Parkinson did not finish too far behind, with his first business-wave earning him a 5.07 while second business-wave getting him a 7.57. However, the effort did not turn out to be good enough to get him through into the next round.
Australia’s Stu Kennedy was also forced to make a premature exit from the ASP 6-Star event after rounding out the bottom-position with a heat-total of 7.40 points.
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