Plenty of thrill and action as men begin their Australian Open of Surfing skirmish
The 6-Star Australian Open of Surfing saw the male surfers arrive at Manly Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Wednesday, February 15, to get their skirmish for the event title underway.
The field for the competition included some of the most exciting surfers from around the world, including Australia’s Joel Parkinson and America’s Evan Geiselman. With two-foot waves on offer at the primary event site, the surfers had their work cut out for them.
The 30-year-old Parkinson, runner-up to the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title, remained one of the stand-out performers of the day as he defeated his young compatriot Cooper Chapman with a heat-total of 15.34 against the latter’s 14.27 in the four-man heat during Round 2 (Round of 96). Both the surfers advanced through into the next round of the competition.
“It’s been a while since I’ve surfed a four man heat, so I was nervous,” Parkinson said. “I was expecting to hear ‘Parkinson you’re in fourth place’ over the loud speaker. But it’s a good feeling to go out there and catch a few waves. I’ve been waiting all week for my heat and it’s good to get it out of the way, and start 2012 with a heat win.”
The 18-year-old Geiselman also made a solid impact in his first heat of the Australian Open of Surfing. Scoring an overall 13.90 off his top-two waves, the American prevailed over Hawaii’s Keala Naihe in Round 1 (Round of 144) and backed it up with a win in Round 2 to comfortably to find himself in Round 3(Round of 48) before the end of the day.
The young Californian sensation Kolohe Andino also lived up to the hype that follows him around to nearly every event as he put on a superb performance in the last heat of the day. His massive aerials once again remained unmatchable and decisive. Scoring a heat-total of 16.43, he got the better of his fellow countryman Nathaniel Curran in Round 2 to join Geiselman in the next round.
The event will kick off with the fourth heat of Round 2 on Thursday.
Tags: