John John Florence emerges triumphant in 2011 Vans World Cup of Surfing
The second stop Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, Vans World Cup of Surfing, wrapped up at the Sunset Beach of Oahu, Hawaii, on Friday, December 2, after capping off a week of intense surfing battles with an equally gripping Final, which pitted Hawaii’s John John
Florence against his compatriot Hank Gaskell, Tahiti’s Michel Bourez and Australia’s Adam Melling.
The 35-minute Final concluded with the crowd favourite Florence securing a comfortable victory to take the win and consequently take the lead in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series. Bourez finished in second place, whim Melling and Gaskell rounded out the
fourth position.
Sunset Beach had played host to some of the best surfers from all around the globe as they took each other on in battles for survival and getting a step closer to the event title, or at least a good finish. Finishing on the podium offered coveted points to
the surfers as well and improved their position in their pursuit of one of the most prestigious awards in surfing, Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.
The 19-year-old Florence had been simply amazing throughout the course of the event so far and only needed to jump over one final hurdle to secure the win. His competition was nothing to feel relaxed about, as all of them had been equally good during their
heats.
As the Final kicked off, Florence got off to a modest start, though gradually building momentum. Just a few minutes past the mid-way stage, the young Hawaiian managed to find a really juicy wave, which allowed him to really let loose and thus collect 9.50 points
for the effort. He soon followed it up with another 7.50-point wave and thus moved to a heat-total of 17.00 points. The score received no significant challenge any of the other surfers and thus carried him off to victory.
Talking to a reporter after the event, Florence said, “This is my first 6 star Prime win, it's at home, it's one of my home breaks and all my family and friends are here, so it's one of the best moments of my life, for sure. It means everything. I've watched
these guys since I was so little growing up here and coming to events when I was six years old, getting their autographs.”
Bourez put up a pretty decent performance as well, though it just wasn’t enough to put Florence’s score in trouble. The Tahiti-based surfer finished with a heat-total of 12.03 points, which included a 5.80 and 6.23-point wave. The score earned him the runner-up
place, which earned him coveted points to improve his standing in the ASP World Tour of Surfing.
Melling finished in third place with a heat-total of 11.96 points, which comprised of a 6.83 and 5.33-point wave.
Gaskell let his local fans down by failing to clinch the win after finishing in fourth place with a heat-total of 11.53 points.
With the conclusion of the Billabong Pipe Master, Florence took the lead in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing with 9780 points, while Milling moved to second place with 9650 points. Bourez’s second-place finish at Vans World Cup of Surfing moved him to No.3
spot on the rankings with 8480 points.
The third and final stop of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing will begin at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, on December 8.
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