Stephanie Gilmore and Sofia Mulanovich shine: 2011 ASP Women’s World Tour Billabong Rio Pro
The second to last heat in the first round of the Billabong Rio Pro, the fifth stop of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour, featured the reigning four-time ASP Women’s World Champion from Australia, Stephanie Gilmore, in an
intense battle against France’s Pauline Ado and Brazil’sSuelen Naraisa.
The 23-year-old Gilmore currently sits in the fourth position in the ongoing season's ratings after four events. Realising if she ever wanted to really make a comeback in the title race, then she will have to prove her worth in Rio. She gave a sensational
performance in the first heat of the day at Barra Da Tijuca on Thursday. Even the difficult surfing conditions had no effect on her spirit and she managed to lock two decent waves to earn a score of 12.16. Ado and Naraisa tried to hold the Australian off,
but the effort turned out to be futile. The French got herself a score of 8.43 from the judges, while the Brazilian had to settle for a disappointing 7.17. The weak response to Gilmore’s impressive surfing forced the two to surrender victory to the 23-year-old
Australian.
This was the perfect start that Gilmore was hoping for after a disappointing elimination at the hands of America’s Carissa Moore in the semi-finals of Commonwealth Beachley Classic a week ago.
“It’s new territory and I don’t really like it,” Gilmore said. “I haven’t made a Final yet and I feel like I’m sort of learning how to surf heats again. I’m definitely learning a lot, It’s so funny how you can feel so familiar with something for so long,
but it has been a good challenge and it’s now or never at this event.”
The last heat of the first round saw three extremely talented surfers go against each other in a triple threat duel. The battle featured Hawaii’s Coco Ho and Alana Blanchard along with Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich.
Peruvian Mulanovich was unarguably the most in-form surfer among the three. She had managed to end Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbon’s Commonwealth Beachley Classic title pursuit prematurely by defeating her in the semi-final, something that definitely qualified
as a huge feat considering the sort of form the Australian was in. Though the 27-year-old faltered in the final and surrendered the victory to Moore, managing to reach the final stage of the event was a big accomplishment in itself.
Soaring from confidence because of her impressive performance in the fourth stop, Mulanovich had high hopes at Rio.
Facing Hawaii’s Ho and Blanchard, the Peruvian left no doubt in anyone’s mind about her current form. She threw off some amazing tricks and turns off her two waves to end up with a score of 12.83. The score turned out to be too much for Ho and Blanchard,
who only managed to earn 10.87 and 9.30 respectively. Mulanovich advanced to the third round of the Billabong Rio Pro.
The first round turned out to be real intense and clearly indicated which surfer was on top of their game in Rio. However, with still ample time to find their forms, the women who were unable to shine in the first round still have a chance to make a strong
comeback. They will however have to get through round two in order to meet the winners of the first round waiting for them in the third round.
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