Shaun Cansdell triumphs in eighth heat of Saquarema Pro International’s round of 48
The third day of the Saquarema Pro International kicked off with the eighth heat of round of 48 on Saturday, May 28th, at the Itauna beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Australia’s Shaun Cansdell managed to earn the highest score of the heat to secure the first position and advance to the next stage of the competition, the round of 24. His compatriot, Adam Robertson, finished in second place, also qualifying for the next
round.
Australia’s Tom Whitaker and the winner of the last stop of Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, Brazil’s Miguel Pupo, finished in third and fourth place respectively and no longer remain in contention for the event title.
In contrast to the one-foot waves that prevailed at the primary event site on Friday, Saturday turned out to be a much better, offering five-to-seven foot stormy waves. There were still strong onshore winds though, making the surfing conditions challenging.
Even in such testing conditions, Cansdell got off to a blistering start, earning a 7.33 off the very first wave that he caught and instantly following it with an even more spectacular wave that earned him 8.17. With a score of 15.50, the Australian surfer
remained on top till in the end and finished in first position.
Robertson got off to a humble start, earning a 5.83 off his first wave, before completely losing his rhythm. He did not have a easy time catching waves, but eventually secured the runner-up position by earning another score in the five range to finish with
a heat total of 11.26. All is well that ends well and it sure did end well for Robertson, as his place in the next round is confirmed.
Australia’s Whitaker never looked too comfortable in the waves and hardly managed to come up with anything impressive. He got a 4.67 off his first wave and followed it up with a 4.83 to land in third place with a final score of 9.50.
Brazil’s Pupo, who was simply outstanding at the previous ASP Prime event, Nike Lowers Pro at Trestles in California, USA, failed to live up to the expectations and finished in fourth place after scoring 8.03 from his two waves. He caught numerous waves
but failed to make any of them really count.
Both Whitaker and Pupo have been eliminated while Cansdell and Robertson will compete in the round of 24 that is scheduled to start today, after the final four heats of the round of 48 wrap up.
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