Jean Da Silva barely rises to victory in Round 1 at Quiksilver Saquarema Prime – Surfing News
Brazil’s Jean Da Silva secured his place in Round 2 of the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola after walking away with top honours from the 11th heat of Round 1 (Round of 96) that took place at the point-break of Itauna Beach in
Saquarema, Brazil, on Tuesday, May 22.
France’s Joan Duru claimed the runner-up spot to accompany Da Silva into the next round. Basque Country’s Hodei Collazo finished third, while France’s Maxime Huscenot sat in last place at the conclusion of the heat. Both the surfers were therefore forced
to make a premature exit from the contention for the event title.
The fourth event on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME calendar had a winning prize purse amounting to $US 250,000 along and also offered 850 coveted ASP ranking points to the overall winner. The appealing rewards had served to attract
the top surfers from around the globe to Rio de Janeiro to have a shot at the goodies and also make the most of the opportunity to surf some of the most amazing waves that had appeared in the region in the last few weeks.
Pitted against Duru, Collazo and Huscenot in the 11th heat of Round 1, Da Silva knew that he had a tough fight on his hands. Despite being at an advantage due to his local knowledge of the waves, the skills that his competitors possessed could
not be taken lightly.
As the four-man battle got underway, Da Silva got off to a scratchy start, struggling to find his rhythm and remaining pretty much on the back-foot. The sea was not being too cooperative either and kept him busy in what was turning out to be a fruitless
search. His persistence and determination eventually paid off as he got hold of a juicy left-hander in the final minutes of the heat to post a 7.17 on the score-board. Following it up with a 4.93-point ride, the Brazilian talent finished with a heat-total
of 12.10 points, which helped him to seal the win.
Duru did not have much luck with the waves during the course of the heat, but did manage to squeeze a 5.43 and 6.33 off a couple of waves to finish with a heat-total of 11.76 points, a score that turned out to be sufficient to put him in runner-up place.
Collazo collected a 3.27-point ride early in the heat and backed it up with the highest single-wave score of the battle, an 8.00. However, the effort proved inadequate and only got him to third place, keeping him in the danger zone. Huscenot finished in
fourth place with a heat-total of 10.80 points, consequently joining Collazo on the elimination list.
Tags: