Julian Wilson dominates heat 5 of Saquarema Pro International’s round of 48
The fifth heat of Saquarema Pro International’s round of 48 wrapped up at the Itauna beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday afternoon, May 26th.
Australia’s Julian Wilson dominated the contest and comfortable qualified for the next round of the competition. Brazil’s Pedro Henrique gave a determined performance and ended up in second position.
The bottom two positions were rounded out by Spain’s Hodei Collazo and Brazil’s Jihad Khodr, who finished in third and fourth place respectively. Both of them have failed to qualify to the next round.
Difficult surfing conditions prevailed at Itauna on Thursday, with two-to-three foot waves and offshore winds presenting the surfers with a tough challenge. However, Australia’s Wilson gave a performance that put every in doubt if their assessment about
the surfing conditions was correct.
The Australian surfer went on a rampage, throwing a backside hack and 360 air-reverse in his first wave to earn a staggering 9.87, the highest single-wave score to be earned at Itauna. However, he was far from done yet. He locked another wave late in the
heat to throw two sensational aerials, earning a score of 8.47. He ended up with a final score of 18.34, setting yet another record, this time for the highest heat total in an event at Itauna.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Wilson said, “These heats with three other guys in the water are difficult and you've just got to go out there and have fun without putting too much pressure on yourself. I chose to stay a little farther away from the
rest of the guys during the heat, but I felt a little lost even after I got that high score.”
Brazil’s Henrique looked good throughout the wave either and did not seem too troubled by the low tides. He ended up getting a two-wave score of 15.27 to finish in second position. With the runner-up finish, he has advanced to the round of 24 along with
Wilson.
Spain’s Collazo did not look too shabby either, but ended up in third place after failing to improve on his two-wave score of 14.06.
Brazil’s Khodr seemed to be struggling since the very first minute of the heat and was unable to get any better as the heat progressed. Eventually, he finished the heat at a total score of 12.07, ending at the last position.
Both Collazo and Khodr find themselves eliminated from the Saquarema Pro International, while the top two finishers have successfully extended their life in the event.
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