Wade Carmichael defeats Medi Veminardi to enter Billabong ASP World Junior Championships Final
Australia’s Wade Carmichael got the better of Reunion Island’s Medi Veminardi in the first Semi-final of Billabong Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Junior Championships that went down at the iconic Burleigh Heads in Gold Coast, Australia,
on Saturday, January 28, to advance through into the Final.
The surfing conditions at the primary event site had turned out to be pretty demanding on Saturday. The stormy sea was offering tricky one-to-two foot waves, which the surfers had a real hard time to lock and control due to the on-shore winds. The frequency
of the rippable waves was not that high either, thus forcing the surfers to remain on their toes and compete for the waves.
Even though the latest day of the competition seemed to lack the blessings of Mother Nature, it did not prevent the event from moving towards a conclusion.
After a series of exciting Quarter-finals, Billabong ASP World Junior Championships came down to the Semi-finals stage. The first of the two Semi-finals pitted Carmichael and Veminardi against each other to determine the surfer worthy of getting a title
shot.
Carmichael, an un-seeded local surfer, had proved himself to be a force to be reckoned with already by removing the front-runner for the ASP World Junior Title, Brazilian Caio Ibelli, from the competition in the third round. The Australian surfer began to
build momentum from there and smoothly sailed through the fourth round and Quarter-finals to get into the Semi-finals.
Veminardi, on the other hand, removed the defending ASP World Junior champion Jack Freestone of Australia from the competition in the Quarter-finals to advance into the Semi-finals. The Reunion Island-based surfer’s win over Freestone highlighted his potential
to get his hands on the event title.
As the first Semi-final got underway, Carmichael hardly wasted any time in asserting his dominance in the battle by posting a 7.67 on the scoreboard. Veminardi, who was clearly struggling to adjust to the conditions, responded weakly with a 2.83-point wave
to find himself under immense pressure.
As the heat progressed, Veminardi added an additional 5.83 points to his account, taking his heat-total to 8.66 points. Carmichael performed the coup de grace with a 4.17-point wave in the dying minutes of the heat, allowing the Australian to finish with
a two-wave total of 11.84 points.
For someone who was hardly known prior to the beginning of Billabong ASP World Junior Championships, reaching the Final was indeed a huge accomplishment. With the way Carmichael had been surfing during the last few days, there was hardly any reason to doubt
his chances at walking away with the event title.
The Billabong ASP World Junior Championships Gold Coast in the third and final event of ASP World Junior Tour and will determine the men’s and women’s 2011 ASP World Junior Champion.
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