Kai Barger and Tanner Gudauskas triumph in their Saquarema Pro International’s round of 48 heats
The fifth day of the Saquarema Pro International continued on Saturday, May 28th, with the ninth and tenth heat of round of 48 at the Itauna Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the ninth heat of the round, Hawaii’s Kai Barger clinched the first position, though just barely, to secure a place in the round of 24. Brazil’s Jesse Mendes finished in second place, extending his life in the competition.
Ireland’s Glenn Hall and Hawaii’s Sebastien Zeitz rounded out the bottom two positions and stand eliminated from the event title race.
The conditions at Itauna continued to be difficult, presenting the surfers with a challenge. Even though there were six-foot waves on offer, the stormy conditions made it tough for the surfers to make the most out of them and hold their own in the sea.
Undaunted by conditions, Hawaii’s Barger went to work early and executed some impressive-looking manoeuvres to earn 4.50 points off his first wave, following it up with a 5.50 wave to finish with a heat total of 10.00. Though the score did not strike as
remarkable, it still proved to be enough to confirm him as the winner.
The local surfer, Mendes, was not able to utilise his local knowledge of the waves to his advantage. Almost half-way through the heat, he scored a 4.67 off his first wave. He needed a 5.34 to clinch the top position, but only managed a 4.53 to settle for
runner-up position.
Ireland’s Hall and Hawaii’s Zeitz were undone by the difficult surfing conditions. The Irish ended up in the third place with a heat total of 7.90, while the Hawaiian finished at the bottom with 7.40. The result marked the end of the 2011 Saquarema Pro International
for these two surfers.
In the tenth heat, America’s Tanner Gudauskas prevailed over his competitors. It was not easy to catch waves under the given circumstances, but the American surfer caught a couple of good ones and really made them count. He scored a 7.93 off his first wave
and followed it up with a 6.60 to end the heat with a total score of 14.53.
Brazil’s Willan Cardoso put up a determined fight, earning a 7.00 off his first wave and needed a 7.54 to surpass Gudauskas, but he was unable to accomplish the feat and had to settle for second place with a heat total of 11.73, surrendering the victory
to his American rival.
Australia’s Chris Davidson got off to a sensational start, getting a 7.43 off his first wave. However, he failed to follow it up with another impressive wave and was pushed to third place after finishing with 11.70, just 0.03 points away from the safe zone.
Hawaii’s Kiron Jabour seemed completely out of sorts in the sea and only managed a 4.67 and 4.57 from his two waves. The disappointing effort put him in fourth place.
Gudauskas and Cardoso will be competing in their next heat in the round of 24, while both Davidson and Jabour have been eliminated from the event.
There are only two more heats left before the round of 48 wraps up and the event moves on to the next stage.
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