Contest organizers looked at the swell and were determined to finish the contest Monday, which they did, ending up with a pair of worthy competitors atop the podium at the conclusion of the Billabong Rio Pro. The fourth stop on
Contest organizers looked at the swell and were determined to finish the contest Monday, which they did, ending up with a pair of worthy competitors atop the podium at the conclusion of the Billabong Rio Pro. The fourth stop on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour ran 18 heats in both the men’s and women’s events with Tahiti’s Michel Bourez winning his second title of the season and Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons picking up her first.
It was the best result of 2014 for Kilauea’s Sebastian Zietz, who reached the quarterfinals for an Equal Fifth place finish. That propels him five spots up the rankings into 16th place for the season and equals his best result at a CT event. Seabass reached the quarters three times last season as a rookie but had not yet made it past the fourth round in his sophomore campaign.
Zietz went up against fellow progressive Hawaii surfer John John Florence in the third round, besting the Oahu phenom at the Rio beach break. Zietz trailed early, but dipped into a barrel heading right and came out clean with some open face still ahead of him. He snapped one carve off the lip and landed cleanly for a nice 7.77 score. He moved ahead with a quick barrel at the 22-minute mark and then held the lead for the remainder of the heat.
Without priority, Florence was in need of an 8.00 for the final few minutes. He gave a good effort, but couldn’t find a wave to stand up. The best looking tube of the last 10 minutes appeared with just 30 seconds remaining. Still with priority, Seabass made sure he took it and didn’t give Florence a chance to pull off the miracle. He somehow stayed on his board as the barrel closed up, getting spit out for a 7.33. Florence, a former Rio champ, slapped the water in frustration as the clock ticked down to zero.
The fourth round was a bizarre heat, with Seabass picking up the top wave score among himself, Jordy Smith and Joel Parkinson. As all three battled the choppy conditions, Zietz needed just a 3.36 with over 13 minutes remaining in the heat to move ahead of Smith and jump directly into the quarterfinals. That score somehow never materialized and Seabass was on to a fifth-round elimination heat with Josh Kerr.
His matchup with the Aussie was a slow one as both struggled to find waves, but Seabass held the lead most of the heat and knelt into a small left tube with under two minutes to go for a 5.83 to go with an earlier 5.93. Kerr needed a 7.60 and tried to drop into a solid right barrel in the final minute, but didn’t manage to come out.
That sent Zietz into the final eight against Taj Burrow. It would be his final heat of the event as Burrow took control from the start, notching two good scores and forcing Seabass to scout for waves way down the beach. Burrow advanced with a 15.66 to 7.20 victory.
It was then Bourez topping Burrow in the semifinals, while Kolohe Andino picked up a huge win over Kelly Slater, although the semifinal appearance moves Slater into first place for the season. Burrow, a 17-year veteran on the tour, is still in search of his first world title. His Equal 3rd puts him into second for the year.
The women’s title went to Fitzgibbons, which also propels her into second place for the season. She was able to best Oahu’s Carissa Moore in the final, which very few have been able to do. Moore remains atop the season rankings and was hoping for her third straight victory, but settled for the runner-up.
Both Malia Manuel and Tatiana Weston-Webb had been previously eliminated on Saturday, each taking Equal Ninth place points. Alana Blanchard was eliminated in the second round for an Equal 13th.
Next up for the women is the Fiji Women’s Pro (May 25 to 30), while the men’s Fiji Pro runs just after (June 1 to 13).
