Gabriel Medina triumphs over Kelly Slater in monstrous surf at Billabong Pro
TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti (Monday, August 25, 2014): The world’s best surfers put everything on the line as they battled the world’s most dangerous wave for an historic Finals day at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, stop no. 7 on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour.
The Final Day's 12-man field took on perilous conditions and monster 12-to-15 foot barreling waves, the biggest of the season, in pursuit of victory. It was Gabriel Medina who came out on top to claim the coveted title of Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion after an unbelievable day of competition and what is being dubbed the best WCT contest in history.
An incredible Final saw Brazilian phenom Gabriel Medina reign supreme in huge, perfect conditions at Teahupo'o. The win over 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater is Medina's third WCT victory of the year, after triumphing at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and Billabong Rio Pro, and sees him extend his lead in the World Title race.
The pair were neck and neck throughout the Final, with each posting a series of excellent nine-point scores. Medina held the lead with the tiniest of margins, 0.03, and the heat came down to the last wave from Slater and a nail-biting wait for the score. He needed a 9.33 but came in just shy at 9.30 and Medina took the win to solidify his place as ASP World No. 1 going in to the final four events of the season. The Brazilian previously dispatched Kolohe Andino and Bede Durbidge on route to the thrilling final.
“I don’t really know what to say,” said Gabriel Medina. “I’m so blessed to have these conditions at ‘Chopes and surf against all these guys. This is such a special event and I’m just so happy right now. Kelly (Slater) is a legend of surfing and it’s the best feeling ever to win. The waves were big and perfect and this feeling is amazing. I love surfing and to get these waves is incredible. I want to thank ASP for the event and I’m so happy to be part of this.”
Today marked the first WCT final of the year and best result of the 2014 season for the four-time Billabong Pro Tahiti winner, Kelly Slater. The result moves the 11-time World Champ up from sixth to second place on the ASP WCT rankings, putting him in serious World Title contention. Slater leaves the competition with two Perfect 10s and 14 excellent nine-points rides after topping John John Florence and Owen Wright before facing Medina in the Final.
"What can you say? The ocean delivered for us today... this week," said Kelly Slater. "It was incredible. I've never seen anything like it and today will go down as one of the best days of surfing in my career, no question. Congratulations to Gabriel (Medina). He was in rhythm all event and specifically in the Final, and he's on fire this year. We switch gears big time for Trestles and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. There's a lot of work ahead."
Fearless charger Bede Durbige secured his best ever result at the Billabong Pro Tahiti after making it the Semifinals where he was knocked out by eventual event winner Medina. Despite a number of brilliant performances through the competition and a Perfect 10 in the Quarterfinals he was unable to match the scores of the Brazilian and leaves the competition in equal 3rd. The result sees him move up one place to World No. 13.
“Gabriel (Medina) is such a tactician in his approach and it worked perfectly,” said Bede Durbidge. “It’s such a bummer but I’m so glad to be part of this day. It was so special to surf against one of my best mates (Adrian Buchan) in the heat before and we’ve been surfing together since we were 13. This is such a great day for ASP and I’m stoked to be a part of it.”
Hawaiian prodigy John John Florence faced eventual runner-up Slater in Semifinal number two in one of the most exciting heats ever seen at Teahupo’o. Florence delivered an epic performance and posted four nine-point rides, including a near-perfect 9.90. The heat ended in a tie break, with each surfing holding a 19.70 heat total, but Slater edged the win with the highest single-wave score, a Perfect 10. The equal third place finish puts Florence in 12th place on the WCT rankings.
“I don’t really know how I feel but that whole heat and everything that happened was crazy,” said John John Florence. “I’m so so stoked. My first ride was so good; it was insane. It was so glassy and nice out there.”
2013 Billabong Pro Tahiti winner Adrian Buchan was knocked out of the competition by Durbidge in the Quarterfinals. One of the highest-scoring heats of the competition saw the compatriots battle for a Semifinal berth, but despite posting an excellent 18.43 heat total, Buchan was unable to match the Perfect 10 from Durbidge. The result sees Buchan jump up six places to joint 18th on the rankings.
“What a dream to be here,” said Adrian Buchan. “It’s picture perfect and as big as you could ask for. It’s really scary but so rewarding. It’s tough to relinquish my title but I feel like I’ve turned my year around here.”
The Andy Irons Most Committed Performance Award is given out every year to the standout surfer of the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Previous winners include John John Florence (2013), Ricardo dos Santos (2012) and Jeremy Flores (2011). This year’s award goes to Owen Wright (AUS) for his commitment, passion and courage during the event. Wright was knocked out of the competition by Slater in the Quarterfinals, but not before he posted a Perfect 10 in Heat 4.
“This feels amazing and I’m so honored to get this award,” said Owen Wright. “During this event so many guys have gone hard. I’ve watched Andy (Irons) for so long and I can’t imagine what he’d be doing if he was here. To get fifth place here feels so special and this award just tops it off.”
Billabong Pro Tahiti Final Result:
1- Gabriel Medina (BRA) 18.96
2- Kelly Slater (USA)18.93
Billabong Pro Tahiti Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 18.67 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 4.17
SF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.77 def. John John Florence (HAW) 19.77
Billabong Pro Tahiti Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 19.87 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.43
QF 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.27 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.27
QF 3: John John Florence (HAW) 19.67 def. Dion Atkinson (AUS) 17.76
QF 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.80 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 16.10
Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 5 Results:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.40 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.66
Heat 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.53 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 6.16
Heat 3: Dion Atkinson (AUS) 19.33 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 14.77
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 19.87 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 12.83
Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.66, Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.73, Tiago Pires (PRT) 6.84
Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.37, Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.57, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 9.00
Heat 3: John John Florence (HAW) 18.16, Kai Otton (AUS) 12.10, Brett Simpson (USA) 8.67
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.44, Owen Wright (AUS) 16.74, Dion Atkinson (AUS) 12.50
Comments
Best surfer was Slater without a doubt he is the best backside tube rider, as MP loves to verbalise ad infinitum - O N T H E P L A N ET . He was nuts, then Double J then daylight. Real shame Medina didn't get a real gnarly bomb like the others did.
Wow, surfing at another level!
(The young guns through everything at Slater & only just piped him.)
An unbelievable live sporting event.
Great coverage to match the waves, as well.
Dudes--if this is as good as it gets--and you get only 2 positive comments--the new ASP- Zooatsea- Pro Surfing-The Surf Industry-Terry Harder- Paul Speaker- Dirk Ziff-and others-- could be in real trouble.
Dude, did you even watch the contest? It was fucking unbelievable. Even if you hate competitions, if you call yourself a "surfer" you have to enjoy watching the worlds best surfers in one of the worlds best waves. Breaking at it's absolute best.
No --I didn't watch it--I'm pretty sure I was out catching some waves of my own here on the big island-during the circus.
great contest, tight heats, heaps of good clean swell, what more could you ask for...
That being said, didn't quite get the judging...the difference between a low 7 and high 8, and low 9 and high 9-10 must have been more obvious in person. Only got to watch heat analyser after work with friends and beers-we were all stumped on where the numbers came from?
That was awesome! apart from the commentary but mute is my new best friend. Loved john john before this comp but new respect for his ability, should've got past KS IMO, deserved a spot in the final for style and nonchalance in the bombs he went after. Great final though and props to Medina, paced himself throughout and charged when it mattered, gonna be hard to stop now.
When you catch a live event like that, I don't think much in the surfing media can match it. The tension of the lulls, the drama of the sets, the consequence of the results. It's the best. As far as entertainment value goes, a day like today shits all over some clip Dane uploads next week of some surfing he did in May. Good surfing and good waves are always enjoyable to watch, but what gets the endorphins running more than any large right or 50 second left, it's stuff like today. Comp stuff is here and now, but hipster clips are always going to be so last week. 8 hours, I was glued to the laptop, and that's only because I slept through the first couple of heats. What a day.
If it was possible to put on heats like Slater vs John John regularly the future of pro surfing would be much brighter. As it is they go to Trestles next which, barring an extreme climate event, is unlikely to be of more than passing interest. The main discussion at our place was around what they have done to Occy. Did he want to get his hair cut or are dreadies outlawed under the new ASP charter? Stu, we expect you to get to the bottom of this!
I think it goes back to Fiji, BB. Occ said in the preview show that if Slater didn't win, he'd cut his hair. And then Slater didn't win...
Could, of course, be a set-up so that he had a 'reason' to cut it. The cynic in me won't rule it out
I'm kinda glad he lost those dreads. Just something about a white man rockin' the Rasta look. It just aint kosher.
As an aside, I am not a huge fan of Gabs but he deserved the win. Surfed smart, surfed well and charged in the final. When he said with the utmost sincerity 'I love surfing so much', I felt it. Would have been interesting to see him come up against JJ, that kids unflappable. But it's all done and dusted now and the best man on the day won.
Onwards and upwards as they say.
Agreed.
As a recent critic of competitive surfing and author of a pretentious post to that effect, well, I'll be pooping those words out in about eight hours' time because that comp was awesome.
he has got skinny legs that medina
Occy lost the dreadlocks ......and now has a ISIS look about him photoshop a AK into his arms and he could be in Syria.
But only if they sell mrs macs sheppards pies over there, looks like he has been into a few lately
just tell them it helps you throw more spray Occ, I've got the sauce, or should I say sauce.
It was a good comp, good to see the comp directors left it up to the the guys in the water to make the call on what is able to be paddled.
Would of liked Medina to swing around on a few more bombs in the lead up to the finals but tactics and smart surfing got him to the end
Couple of serious beatings after the final siren went off and the free surfers flooded the lineup
Bit of banter between Kelly and Gabs on Instagram: http://instagram.com/p/sL-zoQTbLU/
"My next post was going to be dedicated to @gabrielmedina but I think I'll let you wait for that one since it doesn't sound like you're all done telling me off yet. So let me know when you're finished so we can continue with the #TeahupooDiary2014 feed and get back to being civil with one another... #MuitoObrigado #TheViewFromTheChannel #BillabongProTahiti @kidpeligro by @jamie_mitcho"
"That's the pinnacle of pro surfing for me"
KS - on his semi final heat with John John