Top seeders step it up on Day 3 of Breaka Burleigh Pro – Surfing News
The 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star World Tour Breaka Burleigh Pro delivered yet another dose of thrilling surfing action at the iconic Burleigh Heads in Queensland, Australia, on Friday, February 10.
With some of the top Australian professional surfers, along with the exciting talent from around the world in attendance at the Gold Coast to continue their campaign for the event title in rising three-foot waves, the day was full of intense battles.
The big guns of surfing put on a spectacular show to advance through their Round 4 (Round of 64) heats. Josh Kerr, Julian Wilson, Bede Durbidge and Kieren Perrow were included in the list of surfers that were still alive in contention for the event title, much to the delight of the local crowd.
The current No.15 on the ASP World Rankings Perrow is competing in his first contest after walking away with top honours from the final event on the 2011 ASP World Tour, Pipeline Masters. He has been exhibiting a threatening form over the course of the latest ASP event in Australia and continued to impress on Day 3 of Breaka Burleigh Pro.
Posting a 15.43 off his two best waves during the first heat of Round 4, the 35-year-old Australian bested Portugal’s Vasco Ribeiro to advance through into the next stage of the competition. Even the likes of former World Champion Mark Occhilupo of Australia failed to keep his compatriot from clinching the win.
“I have had a fantastic month or so off from competing and I’m still on a high after winning Pipeline for sure but it was good to get back into competitive mode today and win that heat in what are really fun high performance waves” said Perrow.
The 17-year-old Kolohe Andino of America also remained one of the standout performers of the day. The young Californian sensation finished with a heat-total of 13.37 to prevail over the local Nick Vasicek.
Andino had been putting down outstanding runs consistently since the start of the competition, with the glamour of his aerials and the ease with which he seemed to be pulling them off leaving everyone in awe.
Wilson also got through his Round 4 heat alive after taking runner-up place behind his fellow countryman Cahill Bell-Warren. He remained well behind the rest of his rivals in the four-man heat, but managed to leap-frog to second place just in time to survive the heat.
“I made the wrong choice of where to sit at the start and I was lucky to get out there and find waves but I feel good – it’s good to dust the cobwebs off and get into competitive mode and the way that heat panned out – I really had to fight so it’s good,” said Wilson after the heat.
The competition will resume on Saturday with the remaining heats of Round 4.
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