Wilson, Lightfoot and Andino prevail in Round 2 of Mr Price Pro Ballito – Surfing news
Australia’s Julian Wilson, South Africa’s Dylan Lightfoot and America’s Kolohe Andino made the Round 3 (Round of 24) cut at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime Mr Price Pro Ballito after claiming top honours in their respective Round 2 (Round
of 48) heats that went down at Ballito, South Africa, on Wednesday, July 3, 2013.
Australia’s Dion Atkinson finished behind Wilson in second place during the seventh heat to accompany his compatriot into the next round. Australia’s Nathan Hedge finished in third place, while Brazil’s Messias Felix had to settle for fourth place. Both
the surfers were consequently eliminated from the competition.
The eighth heat saw Brazil’s David do Carmo finished behind Lightfoot in second place to extend his life in the event. Australia’s Chris Friend and France’s Joan Duru found themselves ousted from the event after rounding out the bottom-two positions.
While Andino claimed victory in the ninth heat, Brazil’s Jadson Andre finished in second place to accompany him into the next round. America’s Brett Simpson finished in third place, whereas America’s Tanner Gudauskas finished in fourth place. Both the surfers
got ejected from the contention for the event title as a result.
The exciting surfing talent from around the globe found themselves facing a tough challenge as the head-high waves on offer at the primary event site continued to push them on the back-foot during the afternoon session.
Wilson, current World No.11, managed to tame the conditions and put on a superb performance. Locking his first business-wave, he posted a 9.87 on the scoreboard. Keeping the momentum going, he added an additional 8.67 points to his account, thus finishing
with a heat-total of 18.54 points. The score proved more than adequate to seal the fate of the battle in his favour.
“I wore board shorts because I figured I was going to be doing a lot of paddling out there and it made me feel a lot freer on the waves,” Wilson said. “It was tricky out there but there wasn’t much hassling going on and everyone got to surf their own heat,
so it was good.”
Atkinson successfully extended his life in the event as well after securing second place through a two-wave total of 11.84 points, whereas Hedge and Felix registered a heat-total of 11.50 and 11.40 points respectively, thus getting eliminated from the competition.
The eighth heat saw Lightfoot walk away with the win, though just barely, after finishing with a heat-total of 11.97 points, just 0.04 points ahead of Do Carmo, who finished in second place.
Friend finished in third place with a heat-total of 8.26 points, while Duru has to settle for fourth place after registering a two-wave total of 7.66 points.
Californian sensation Andino claimed victory in the ninth heat after finishing with a heat-total of 13.67 points. While the two-wave total was identical to that of second-place finisher Andre, the American surfer’s higher single-wave score served to earn
him the win.
Simpson and Gudauskas finished with a heat-total of 13.23 and 8.60 points respectively, consequently finding themselves eliminated from the competition.
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