Kaua‘i’s Bethany Hamilton and Gavin Gillette were knocked out early in the women’s Midori Pro World and men’s Maitland Toyota Surfest in Merewether, Australia, this week. A whopping 312 local, national and international surfers flocked to Australia for the week-long
Kaua‘i’s Bethany Hamilton and Gavin Gillette were knocked out early in the women’s Midori Pro World and men’s Maitland Toyota Surfest in Merewether, Australia, this week.
A whopping 312 local, national and international surfers flocked to Australia for the week-long competition.
The women’s contest started yesterday, but bigger-named surfers hit the waves today. A total of 11 of the 17 women on the World Championship Tour are scheduled to surf, including Amee Donohoe, Melanie Redman-Carr, Hawai‘i’s Megan Abubo, and three-time winner at Newcastle, Rebecca Woods.
In the men’s round, Australia’s Travis Lynch charged through Round 3 yesterday. The reserve entrant, who ejected himself from the contest’s commentary box and reported to the beach marshall’s hut on Sunday after a no-show by another competitor, blitzed the first heat of the round of 160 in southerly affected 3-foot to 4-foot swells to take the heat from South African Clinton Gravett.
With surfers struggling to find good waves in the challenging conditions, both Lynch and Gravett managed to pull off 7-point rides, but Lynch gained the upper hand by following up with a 6.83 to Gravett’s next best of 4.77.
Hawaiian goofy-foot Clay Marzo, lauded across the world as one of the ‘next big things’ in professional surfing, impressed spectators this morning with his powerful and controlled aggression.
The 17-year-old, who came insecond in the 2005 International Surfing Association’s World Junior Championships in 2005, looks set to continue to cause opponents concern in upcoming rounds.
For live Web casts and scores, visit surfest.com
