Mick Fanning defeats Joel Parkinson to claim Billabong Pro Tahiti Title
Australia’s Mick Fanning took out the Billabong Pro Tahiti Title after getting the better of his fellow countryperson Joel Parkinson in the Final at the main event site of Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti, on Monday, August 27.
It turned out to be an adrenaline-pumping contest, with both the surfers fighting tooth-and-nail to reach out for the coveted honours, though in the end it was the former two-time Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Champion and current No.1
on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour rankings who got to walk away with the win.
After a week of enthralling battles, the crowd and global audience following the action through live webcast could not have hoped for a better climax.
The four-to-six foot waves on offer at the primary event site presented the two finalists with a perfect stage to put their most technical skills on display.
As the battle got underway, the 31-year-old Parkinson wasted no time to grab the lead with an excellent 9.50-point ride. He dragged his rival under even more pressure by following his opening ride with yet another impressive string of tricks on his second
business-wave, earning an 8.87 for the effort. The two-wave total of 18.37 points was undoubtedly a testing total, especially in the final of an ASP World Tour event.
Fanning, however, brought his years of experience into play and refused to succumb to pressure. The Australian surfer got off to a relatively modest start, but eventually got hold of a juicy wave midway through the 35-minute heat to post a 9.37 on the scoreboard,
keeping the battle very much alive.
Still trailing behind his rival with only a few minutes left before the buzzer was to go off, Fanning found just the way he wanted in the situation and utilised it to its full potential for a desperately-needed 9.50, thus moving to a heat-total of 18.87
points. The last-minute effort consequently sealed the fate of the heat in his favour.
“It’s a 35 minute Final so I knew the waves were going to come,” Fanning said. “I just had to be patient. It’s Teahupo’o so it goes on and off. You can get two 10s in two minutes so I knew I just needed to keep my composure throughout the Final. Joel (Parkinson)
is such an incredible surfer and he’s gotten so good out here. He raced out to an early lead and I knew I needed to focus on my own game plan.”
With his latest elite tour event victory, Fanning got to retain his position as the front-runner for the 2012 ASP World Tour Title, while Parkinson’s runner-up finish moved him to the No.2 spot on the rankings.
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