Tanner Gudauskas emerges triumphant in Round 1 of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime
America’s Tanner Gudauskas secured his place in Round 2 (Round of 48) of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola after putting on a superb performance to claim victory in the 23rd heat of Round 1 (Round of 96) that continued at the event
site of Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Wednesday, May 23.
Hawaii’s Keanu Asing accompanied Gudauskas into the next round of the competition after successfully clinching runner-up position. Brazil’s Peterson Crisanto and Hawaii’s Granger Larsen were forced to make a premature exit from the competition after finishing
in third and fourth place respectively.
The fourth event on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME calendar had attracted some of the best surfers from all corners of the world to Brazil, offering them an opportunity to take him a share of the $US 250,000 prize purse as well
as up to 850 coveted ASP ranking points. With such rewards on offer, there was very little reason for the surfers to hold back during their battles. The battles were made even more exciting due to the surfing conditions on hand. The four-to-six foot waves
gracing Itauna Beach on Wednesday seemed like a perfect stage for the exciting action sports athletes to deliver a series of memorable performances.
The 23rd heat pitted Gudauskas against Asing, Crisanto and Larsen in a four-man bout for the Round 2 spot.
Gudauskas did not get off to the best of starts, struggling a little to find his rhythm. However, he gradually built momentum as the heat progressed. Almost halfway through the heat, he locked a juicy left-hander to unload a series of exquisite tricks, earning
a 7.70 for the effort. He kept the momentum going to get hold off another promising swell, this time managing to earn an 8.90 off it to move to a heat-total of 16.60 points.
Asing made his way to runner-up position by collecting a couple of scores in the seven-point range in the final minutes of the heat to finish with a heat-total of 14.10 points.
Crisanto finished third with a heat-total of 13.93 points, which comprised of a 7.83 and 6.10-point ride, while Larsen finished fourth with a two-wave total of 13.20 points. Both the surfers were consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
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