Wade Carmichael downs Ariihoe Tefaafana to take out Billabong Tahiti Nui Pro Junior
Australia’s Wade Carmichael emerged triumphant in the inaugural Billabong Tahiti Nui Pro Junior by prevailing over French Polynesia’s Ariihoe Tefaafana in the Final that went down at Papara Beach in Tahiti, French Polynesia, on Saturday, April 7.
The spectacular performance during his final against Tefaafana served to earn him his second Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Australasia Pro Junior Series event victory in a course of seven days. The success in Tahiti cemented his rank as the
No.1 ASP Australasian Pro Junior surfer.
“It feels so good to win two events in a row!” Carmichael said. “It’s a pretty nice way to end what’s been an awesome trip to Tahiti. I don’t really know what the secret to my success is, I’ve just been enjoying my surfing, doing some turns and getting some
good waves.”
Promising young surfers from around the globe had converged to Papara Beach to exhibit their skills and prove their mettle. The surfing conditions turned out to be pretty decent as well, offering plenty of opportunities to the surfers to put their stylish
surfing on display in two-to-three foot waves.
Carmichael and Tefaafana were the event’s biggest standouts during the Inaugural Billabong Tahiti Nui Pro Junior, prevailing in a series of battles to eventually come across each other in the Final.
The Australian surfer got off to an excellent start in the final, unleashing his powerful carves to post an 8.00 on the score-board. As the battle progressed, he went on to add an additional 7.83 points to his account to finish with a heat-total of 15.83
points.
Tefaafana failed to offer a strong challenge to his rival after scoring a 5.93 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 6.87-point ride immediately to finish with a heat-total of 12.80 points. The 3.03-point deficit forced him to concede victory
and thus the event title to Carmichael.
“This was my first Pro Junior Final!” Tefaafana said. “I’m so happy! This was a great event for me. Congratulations to Wade [Carmichael], he surfed really well in the Final and proved he’s the best.”
The local surfer had given his local support plenty of reasons to cheer their lungs out and definitely deserved a pat on his back for his superb performance during the event.
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