Yadin Nicol, Thiago Camarao and Nathan Yeomans advance to Round 2 at Mr Price Pro Ballito
Australia’s Yadin Nicol, Brazil’s Thiago Camarao and America’s Nathan Yeomans walked away with top honours from their respective Round 1 (Round of 96) heats as the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime Mr Price Pro Ballito resumed at the Willard
Beach in KwaDukuza, South Africa, on Thursday, July 5.
Australia’s Mitchel Coleborn, his fellow countryperson Jack Freestone and Brazil’s Jesse Mendes successfully made the Round 2 (Round of 48) cut as well after securing runner-up positions in their respective heats.
The one-metre walls on offer at the primary event site on Thursday morning appeared ideal for a day full of thrilling performances and enthralling battles as the local and international talent competed for a place in the next round.
The 16th heat saw Nicol expertly navigate through the waves to capitalise on a couple of potent scoring opportunities. He eventually finished with a heat-total of 13.17 points, which held up until the end to see him through to victory.
Coleborn accompanied him into the next round after finishing with a heat-total of 10.93 points, whereas Hawaii’s Kiron Jabour and Australia’s Davey Cathels finished with a heat-total of 10.50 and 9.76 points, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
The 17th heat featured an exquisite performance by Camarao as he got the better of his rivals in the four-man battle. The Brazilian surfer collected a couple of juicy waves to get to a heat-total of 15.33 points, which served to seal the deal
in his favour and carry him through into the next round.
His compatriot Mendes was nothing short of impressive either and advanced to the next round as well after finishing with a heat-total of 14.10 points.
America’s Damien Hobgood and South Africa’s Rudy Palmboom finished with a heat-total of 13.43 and 5.76 points respectively, consequently getting removed from the contention for the event title.
Yeomans looked in great touch during the 18th heat, getting hold of a couple of good waves to unleash a flurry of technical tricks to finish with a heat-total of 14.33 points, which remained unbeatable throughout the course of the four-man battle
to earn him victory.
“There were some beautiful conditions out there, luckily I was able to pick off the ones that Tommy [Whittaker] didn’t get and come away with the lead,” Yeomans said. “This place reminds me of Santa Cruz, California, it has the same reef set up with the
rocks and high tide backwash, I like surfing a right hand point so I felt really comfortable out there.”
Freestone extended his life in the event as well after finishing with a heat-total of 11.40 points to secure runner-up place, while his compatriot Tom Whitaker and Brazil’s Jeronimo Vargas were forced to exit the competition after finishing with a heat-total
of 10.20 and 8.50 points respectively.
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