Mick Fanning and Kolohe Andino prevail in Round 2 of 2012 Telstra Drug Aware Pro – Surfing News
Australia’s Mick Fanning and America’s Kolohe Andino emerged triumphant in their respective Round 1 (Round of 96) heats of the 2012 Telstra Drug Aware Pro that went down at Margaret River in Australia on Tuesday, March 20.
The successful start in the first round served to add both Fanning and Andino to the Round 2 (Round of 48) line-up. Puerto Rico’s Brian Toth and South Africa’s Dale Staples also made their way through into the next round by clinching first runner-up positions in the 21st and 22nd heat respectively.
The big six-to-eight foot waves on offer on day 2 of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime rated event set up a great stage for the top surfers from around the globe to put on their best tricks on display, much to the delight of the local crowd.
As the 21st heat got underway, the former two-time ASP World Champion Fanning put on a superb performance to down Toth, Ireland’s Glenn Hall and Australia’s Garrett Parkes in the four-man battle.
Fanning locked his first business-wave early in the 30-minute heat to collect a 7.17 and soon stepped up even more to pull off a string of exquisite manoeuvres on his second business-wave to post a near-perfect 9.70 on the scoreboard. The resultant heat-total of 16.87 points proved to be a decisive one, allowing him to walk away with the win.
Toth settled for first runner-up place after scoring a 4.17 and 7.50 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 11.67 points.
Hall and Parkes failed to make much of an impact during the course of the battle. The Irish surfer took third place with a heat-total of 10.83 points, while the latter rounded out the bottom position with a heat-total of 9.67 points. Both the surfers consequently got eliminated from the competition.
The 22nd heat featured a nail-biting battle for the top honours, with Andino, his compatriot Evan Geiselman and South Africa’s Staples putting on a determined performance to reach out for the win.
The young Californian surfer Andino eventually walked away with the win after finishing with a heat-total of 12.34 points, which comprised of a 5.17 and 7.17-point win.
Staples finished in runner-up place after scoring a 4.87 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 7.10-point wave for a heat-total of 11.97 points.
Geiselman was forced to settle for third place with a heat-total of 11.46 points, while the fourth competitor in the heat Jano Belo from Brazil rounded out the bottom-position with a two-wave total of 6.70 points.
Tags: