Taylor Knox prevails in first round of Billabong Rio Pro to advance to round three – Surfing News
American surfer, Taylor Knox win an intimidating competition, which consisted of Australia’s Matt Wilkinson and Joel Parkinson, in the final heat of the first round of Billabong Rio Pro at the left-hand point-break of Arpoado, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
After a handful of exciting battles that were featured in the morning, the final heat of day was expected to deliver the same standard of thrilling surfing action. The expectation was mainly based on the fact that the heat consisted of Parkinson, the surfer who had performed exceptionally well at the previous stop of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Men’s World Tour, Rip Curl Pro, at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, just a few weeks ago.
He had shown an impressive performance throughout the course of the 2011 ASP season and was expected to make a solid impact in Rio De Janeiro.
The surfers were met by extreme testing conditions at the event site on Tuesday, with hardly five foot waves on offer. This led the heat to become a battle of experience rather than a clash of raw skills.
Unable to cope with the difficult surfing conditions and failing to lock on two good waves, Parkinson ended-up with an unimpressive score of 8.34. The effort came as a huge disappointment after his promising performance in Rip Curl Pro.
While Parkinson turned out to be quite un-threatening, a real intense battle went on between Knox and Wilkinson. Both surfers managed to adjust to the conditions and picked up good waves to throw down their signature tricks and turns, among other manoeuvres.
The nail-biting contest ended with the American edging just barely behind his Australian rival. Knox ended-up with a score of 15.03 that caused Wilkinson, who earned 14.70 after his two waves, to surrender victory.
With the first round wrapped-up, twelve high-performers of the day sit with a place secured in the third round. The second and third place finishers will make their way to the second round to compete for a spot in the third round.
Tags: