Quiksilver Pro France feature phenomenal performances by Gabriel Medina and Kelly Slater in Round 3
Brazilian powerhouse Gabriel Medina and American legendary surfer Kelly Slater asserted their dominance over their rivals in their respective Round 3 heats at Quiksilver Pro France, the seventh of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals
(ASP) World Championship Tour.
Continuing at the main event site of La Graviere in Hossegor, France, on Thursday, October 4, the best surfers from around the globe kept competing for survival in the contention for the event title, along with the ASP World Tour rankings points that are
eventually play the most crucial role in determining who gets to take home the most coveted honours in the sport at the end of the season.
The demanding conditions prevailing at the primary event site since the opening day of the competition had turned out to keep some of the best surfers in the world at bay, making it extremely tough for them to put on the level of performances that were normally
expected of them.
Medina, one of the most promising emerging talents from Brazil, had proved himself as a force to be reckoned with over the last few months and seemed determined to continue establishing himself as a potent threat during his trip to France.
Pitted against Medina in the 11th heat of Round 3 was Australia’s Kai Otton. With plenty of experience and a huge array of skills at his disposal, the Australian sensation was never going to prove easy for the Brazilian to overcome during his
pursuit for a place in the fourth round.
As the battle got underway, Medina got down to business right away, getting hold of the first potential scoring opportunity that arrived to post a 4.83 on the score-board.
After going through a series of average wave scores, he managed to add an additional 6.83 points to his account, he finished with a heat-total of 11.66 point.
Otton got off to a slow start, earning a 5.07 off his first business-wave and later followed it up with a 4.17-point ride to reach a heat-total of 9.24 points.
The lackluster performance was enough to pose any significant threat to the Brazilian surfer’s score, thus allowing the latter to walk away with a convincing victory into the fourth round.
The 12th heat pitted Slater against Brazil’s Jadson Andre in a man-on-man battle for survival in testy conditions.
The 40-year-old Floridian is without any doubt the most dominant surfer in history, boasting a record number of 11 ASP World Title, though he is far from done yet.
Looking to add one more title to his collection, Slater was going strong at the latest elite tour event, comfortably making it through into the third heat.
Andre definitely had his work cut out for him as he got set to take Slater on in a battle for the Round 4 spot.
As the heat got underway, the Brazilian surfer locked his first business-wave to earn a 4.50 off it and later added an additional 1.20 points to his account, thus reaching a heat-total of 5.70 points.
Slater got off to a relatively slower start, but soon took the contest to an entirely new level with a phenomenal 9.70-point ride, moving well ahead of his rival.
Not quite done yet, he added another 6.57 points to his account, thus reaching a heat-total of 16.27 points to claim a comfortable win.
The outstanding performance by Slater was something that hardly came as a surprise, though it got the crowd all excited nevertheless.
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