Joel Parkinson says no favourites for 2012 ASP World Title – Surfing News
Australia’s professional surfer Joel Parkinson strongly believes that there are no clear favourites for the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title this year.
In a recent interview to the official ASP World Tour website, the 30-year-old Parkinson said that while everyone is talking about America’s legendary Kelly Slater to collect his 12th World Title, or the young Australian sensation Owen Wright,
there are a lot more surfers with the potential to get hold of the coveted title this year.
“Everyone talks about Kelly and some of the younger guys, but everyone seems to have forgotten about Jordy Smith in that equation. Jordy is a dark horse. A lot of people are talking about Owen because he went from strength to strength last year. He will
be up there, and Julian Wilson is surfing amazingly and the thing is he really wants it. You can tell. And then you have the usual suspects. Mick has been training really hard and surfing really hard, and I’m sure Taj’s name should be in there too,” conceded
the 2011 ASP World Title series runner-up.
While the pre-season hype surrounding the Florida-based Slater is nothing new or unusual, it is the likes of Wright who are getting a lot of attention prior to the 2012 ASP World Tour. The young gun had announced himself as a serious threat during the previous
season. He had been pitted against the iconic surfing force Slater a number of times and always managed to offer a commendable fight. In one of the face-offs he managed to get the better of the surfing legend to walk away with the event title.
However, Parkinson contended that South Africa’s Smith and Australia’s Wilson could not be overlooked. Their performances in 2011 had been spectacular despite going against the best surfers from around the globe. An exquisite run of form throughout the 2011
ASP Dream Tour had eventually earned Wilson the 2011 ASP World Tour Rookie of the Year Award.
The Queensland-based Parkinson conceded that with a number of strong contenders for the ASP World Title, the upcoming season will be full of excitement and suspense.
The 2012 ASP World Tour will kick off with Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast at Snapper Rocks in Queensland, Australian, from February 25.
Tags: