Wade Carmichael defeats Nathan Carvalho to claim Billabong ASP World Junior Championships Title
Australia’s Wade Carmichael got the better of Hawaii’s Nathan Carvalho in the Final of Billabong Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Junior Championships to lift the trophy at the iconic Burleigh Heads in Gold Coast, Australia, on Saturday,
January 28.
The un-seeded Australian surfer hardly struck as a potential winner of the third and final stop of the ASP World Junior Tour during the early stages of the competition. Failing to hold his own in the opening round of the event did not help him in attracting
the attention of the critics either.
However, Carmichael bounced back strongly in the second round and apparently carried the momentum into Round 3 to remove the front-runner for the ASP World Junior Title Caio Ibelli of Brazil from the competition. From there on, the Australian collected a
series of successful heat results to gradually make his way into the Final.
There was just one more obstacle left for Carmichael to overcome in order to wrap his fingers around the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships title, Carvalho.
The Hawaii-based Carvalho had gotten off to a disappointing start, but recovered in Round 2 to remain in contention for the event title. After an initial stumble, Carvalho smoothly sailed through the competition, announcing himself as a deadly force with
every successful heat-result.
As the battle for the event trophy got underway, Carmichael entered the stormy sea with tricky one-to-two foot waves with a very different strategy. Rather than attacking whatever wave appeared, he remained patient while apparently conserving his energy
for a juicy wave.
While the strategy had its risks, the local surfer was fortunate to have the luck on his side as the appearance of a promising wave sent him in aggressive mode, allowing him to unload a strong of tricks to earn 6.50 points for the effort. He soon backed
it up with a 4.67-point wave to finish the heat with a two-wave total of 11.17 points.
Carvalho, on the other hand, remained much busier, attacking a handful of waves to search for an adequate score. Despite his persistence and determination, the Hawaiian surfer failed to get his hands on a desirable score and eventually finished with a heat-total
of 10.63 points, which comprised of a 5.50 and 5.13-point wave.
The 0.54-point deficit caused Carvalho to surrender victory to Carmichael, allowing him to take home the Billabong ASP World Junior 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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