Kolohe Andino starts off with a win in Round 1 at Quiksilver Saquarema Prime
America’s Kolohe Andino advanced to the second round (Round of 48) of the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola after clinching a convincing victory in the 10th heat of Round 1 (Round of 96) that went down at the main event site of
Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Tuesday, May 22.
Chris Ward from America also made his way into the next round, courtesy of his runner-up finish. Brazil’s Jano Belo and his fellow countryperson Halley Batista failed to make the Round 2 cut after rounding out the third and fourth place respectively.
The $US 250,000 prize purse and 850 coveted Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ranking points on offer had caught the attention of 96 top surfers from around the world. Covering to Brazil to participate in the fourth event on the 2012 ASP PRIME calendar,
the surfers put on a series of enthralling performance in six-to-eight foot waves throughout the opening day of the competition.
The 10th heat of Round 1 saw Andino square off with Ward, Belo and Batista in a four-man battle for the Round 2 spot.
Determined to keep himself alive in contention for the event title, Andino started off with a series of modest scores, carefully taking his time to warm up to the conditions on hand. As the heat progressed, though, he caught a left-hander to throw a few
turns and earn a 5.57 for the effort. A few more minutes of patient hunting eventually enabled the young American surfer to get hold of an 8.60-point ride, thus reaching a heat-total of 14.17 points. The score did not receive any serious threat from the other
surfers in the heat and consequently carried him to a comfortable win.
While Andino looked pretty comfortable during the course of the heat, his compatriot Ward seemed to be having a tough time. Running a bit low on luck, Ward had his patience tested as he searched for a couple of potent scoring opportunities. Finding a 4.33
and 5.17-point wave to reach a heat-total of 9.50 points eventually, the American surfer found himself sitting in runner-up place with his place in the next round confirmed.
Belo and Batista were comparatively familiar with the waves and conditions, but failed to capitalise on the advantage. Sitting at a heat-total of 8.74 and 8.07 points respectively at the end of the heat, both the surfers found themselves making an early
exit from the competition field.
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