Silvana Lima, Pauline Ado and Stephanie Gilmore advance to quarter-finals: 2011 Billabong Rio Pro
The final day of 2011 Billabong Rio Pro continued to deliver the exciting female surfing action in round four on Sunday, May 15, at Barra Da Tijuca in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
After the third round wrapped up, the eight ladies who had failed to the highest score in their respective heats made their way to the fourth round to secure a place in the quarter-finals and more importantly to stay in the competition. With a do-or-die
situation on their hands, the eight surfers were expected to really come out with their best in order to stay in contention at the fifth stop of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour.
The fourth round kicked off with the first heat pitting Brazil’s Silvana Lima against New Zealand’s Paige Hareb. The Brazilian was unarguably in a better form than her rival and this was further evidenced during the heat. Throwing impressive manoeuvres in
both her waves, she earned herself 14.33 against Hareb’s 9.30. The win cemented her place in the quarter-final while marking the end of the road for the New Zealand surfer.
The second heat pitted America’s Courtney Conlogue against Hawaii’s Alana Blanchard in a battle for survival and the coveted place in the quarter-final. Blanchard, who seemed totally out of sorts in her previous heat, did manage to up her game a little and
earn 10.14 after her two waves. The effort, while commendable, was not enough to keep the American from clinching a convincing win with her score of 15.63. Conlogue progressed to the next stage of the competition while Blanchard was eliminated.
In the third heat, France’s Pauline Ado took on Hawaii’s Coco Ho. The Hawaiian has earned herself quite a reputation over the years and is considered among the top female surfers of the world. However, she has been consistently failing to make a strong impact
in all the previous events this ASP season. The fourth round did not turn out to be any better for her as she went against her French rival. Managing to score 11.03 after her two waves against Ado’s 12.40, she found herself eliminated from this years’ Billabong
Rio Pro.
The final heat of the fourth round was indeed the big one. The four-time reigning ASP World Champion, Stephanie Gilmore, took on Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich, the same girl who had ousted Australia’s in-form Sally Fitzgibbons in the semi-finals of the recent
Commonwealth Beachley Classic in Australia. It was indeed difficult to pick a favourite to win the battle. Mulanovich had failed to impress in her heat that took place earlier in the day. She continued to disappoint those who had high expectations from her.
Scoring 9.24 against her Australia rival’s 13.84, she was forced to surrender victory.
The four winners of the fourth round will join the winners of the third round in the quarter-finals that is scheduled to take place on the same day.
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