Sebastien Zietz and Gabriel Medina emerge triumphant in Vans World Cup of Surfing semi-finals
Hawaii’s Sebastien Zietz and Brazil’s Gabriel Medina advanced to the final at the Vans World Cup of Surfing, second jewel on the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, after walking away with top honours from their respective semi-final
heats that went down at Sunset Beach in Oahu, Hawaii, on Tuesday, December 4, 2012.
Australia’s Adrian Buchan made it through into the final as well finishing behind Zietz in second place during the first semi-final. Brazil’s Jesse Mendes and Australia’s Lincoln Taylor got eliminated from the competition after rounding out the bottom-two
positions.
The second semi-final concluded with Melling having to settle for one place below Medina, which proved sufficient to take him through into the next round. Australia’s Perth Standlick and Brazil’s Alejo Muniz finished in third and fourth place respectively,
which resulted in their elimination from the competition.
Waves with face of up to six-to-eight feet were gracing the event site on the latest day of the competition, creating an ideal stage for an intense climax.
The first semi-final pitted Zietz against Buchan, Mendes and Taylor in a four-man battle for a place in the final.
The Hawaiian surfer made the most of his local knowledge of the waves to deliver an impressive and effective performance. Scoring a 7.83 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 5.17-point ride, Zietz finished with a heat-total of 13.00 points,
which served to seal the fate of the battle in his favour.
Buchan finished in second place with a heat-total of 12.03 points, which included a 7.33 and 4.70-point wave. The score proved sufficient to take him through into the final stage of the competition.
Mendes and Taylor got eliminated after failing to do any better than a heat-total of 10.67 and 7.30 points respectively.
The second semi-final concluded with Medina standing tall, courtesy of a winning heat-total of 13.00 points, which comprised of a 7.67 and 5.33-point wave.
Melling was able to secure his place in the final as well after posting a 7.57 and 2.77 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 10.34 points.
Standlick finished third with a heat-total of 8.26 points, while Muniz had to settle for fourth place after failing to do any better than a two-wave total of 7.33 points.
Tags: