Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson advance to Round 4 of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
The exciting surfing action continued with the seventh and eighth heat of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay’s Round 3 at the iconic coastline of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa on Saturday, July 23.
Australia’s Mick Fanning dominated his country-man, Kai Otton, in the seventh heat to advance to the next round, removing his rival from the event in the process.
The eighth heat saw Australia’s Joel Parkinson defeat his compatriot Matt Wilkinson, though just barely, to move through to Round 4, consequently eliminating his opponent from the competition.
Blessed by ideal six-to-eight foot waves, the third round continued with the seventh heat, pitting the former two-time ASP World Champion, Fanning, against Otton in a battle for survival. Fanning was undeniably the more skilful of the two surfers, though
Otton was very much capable of creating an upset on his day.
As the heat kicked off, the 30-year-old Fanning got down to business right away, locking a wave to pull off a combination of spectacular tricks. The excellent wave earned him a 9.03 from the judges, getting him an early lead. After a patient hunt, he collected
a 7.07 off his second business-wave in the closing minutes of the heat, finishing with a two-wave total of 16.10 points.
The 31-year-old Otton failed to come up with a decent response to his rival’s exceptional show and ended up giving a really disappointing performance before eventually surrendering victory. He managed to collect a mere 4.23 and 5.57 off his two best waves
to finish with a heat-total of 9.80 points.
The eighth heat featured Parkinson and Wilkinson in an intense battle, with both surfers managing to stay at par with each other’s performance.
The 22-year-old Wilkinson drew first blood during the heat, locking a wave to score 6.33 points off it and clinching the lead. The more experienced of the two surfers, 30-year-old Parkinson, was unable to come up with a decent response in the initial stages
of the heat, with his best wave earning him a score of 4.67 only.
Wilkinson soon extended his lead and increased the pressure on his rival by collecting 6.00 off his second business-wave, moving to a heat-total of 12.33 points. As the heat progressed, the young surfer seemed to be on his way to victory, when suddenly Parkinson
made a strong charge in the final minutes of the heat to show off his class and earn 7.97 points off the wave. The score took him to a heat-total of 12.64 points, allowing him to edge past Wilkinson and secure victory.
As a result, Parkinson moved on to Round 4 to face his next challenge, while Wilkinson found himself removed from the contention for event-title.
For more updates on Round 3 of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, stay tuned to bettor.com
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