Mick Fanning claims victory at J-Bay Open
JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Saturday, July 16, 2016) - Three-time WSL ChampionMick Fanning (AUS) has won the J-Bay Open, stop No. 6 on the 2016 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), defeating John John Florence (HAW) in an exciting Final in three-to-four foot (1 metre) surf at Jeffreys Bay.
Today’s incredible victory comes a year after a dramatic incident during the 2015 J-Bay Open Final where Fanning was attacked on live television by what is believed to be a Great White Shark.
“It’s definitely a very different feeling this win,” said Fanning. “There was a real emotional build up coming back here this year. That Semifinal with Julian was really special and it was wonderful to have a heat with him again. Definitely some emotions went into it paddling out and it was just really special having a surf with him out there and both of us come in safe. I’m stoked that I got to come back and right the wrongs that happened last year. I’ve done that now so I can move on.”
The win today is Fanning’s 22nd Championship Tour victory and his fourth at the J-Bay Open, which sees him equal Slater’s record of four event wins at Jeffreys Bay. Fanning defeated Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Julian Wilson (AUS) en route to the Final today.
Fanning, who is taking a personal year in 2016 and only surfing in select events this season, leaps up from 16th to 5th place on the WSL Jeep Leaderboard.
“It’s awesome to be in 5th place but I don’t really care about results this year,” said Fanning. “I just want to thank everyone who has supported me over the past year, I’ve had so much support, and I’m looking forward to celebrating. For me this year feels a lot lighter not going for a world title so I’m really enjoying my surfing and having a lot of fun. I’ll be surfing at Trestles and I think that might be my last event of the year. World titles aren’t the biggest thing for me at the moment - I’m all about enjoying my surfing.”
Today’s runner-up finish for Florence sees him move up to second place on the Jeep Leaderboard for the first time in his career and close the gap on ratings leader Matt Wilkinson (AUS) heading into the next event on the CT, the Billabong Pro Tahiti.
Florence, who was absent from the J-Bay Open in 2015 due to an ankle injury, defeatedJordy Smith (ZAF) in the Quarterfinals and Josh Kerr (AUS) in the Semifinals before facing Fanning in the Final and earning his best ever result at Jeffreys Bay.
“I’m really stoked to be back here this year and to be in the Final surfing against Mick,” Florence said. “I wasn’t here last here when everything went down so just to see Mick win it is pretty inspiring coming back after that.”
“It feels really good to move up to second place but I’m not really thinking too much about the points, just taking it event by event,” Florence continued. “I’m really excited about these upcoming events. This second half of the year I’ve always had a lot of fun and done really well. Hopefully we get some big waves in Tahiti and at Lowers, one of the most rippable waves in the world, and also have some fun in France and the European leg and I can’t wait for Pipe.”
Fanning got things started in the Final with a solid 7.17 but Florence answered with a technical aerial maneuver followed by two aggressive turns and was rewarded with an 8.50 and the lead. The Australian went on to find the wave of the Final and unleash his trademark turns on the walls of Jeffreys Bay to secure a near-perfect 9.93 and an impressive advantage. Florence fought back with an air reverse with eight minutes remaining to post a back-up score but it wasn’t enough to take first place. The final exchange saw Fanning race down the line while Florence delivered two full-rail carves and another air reverse. Florence earned an 8.63 but the score fell short and Fanning took the win with a 17.70 heat total.
Josh Kerr (AUS) took on runner-up Florence in the opening Semifinal match-up. Florence got things started with an air reverse and 5.83 points. An exciting exchange between saw both surfers take to the air but Florence took the edge with an 8.23, leaving Kerr in need of a near-perfect 9.17 as the clock wound down. Just before the final buzzer Kerr got to his feet but didn’t get the score. The result today is Kerr’s best of the season and also his best ever at Jeffreys Bay. Kerr leaps up ten places to 17th on the Jeep Leaderboard.
“I’ve really enjoyed the event and it’s been a good result for me,” Kerr said. “Tahiti coming up is one of my favorite locations so I’m looking forward to that.”
A rematch of last year’s dramatic final between Fanning and compatriot Julian Wilson (AUS) played out in the second Semifinal bout. Both surfers opened strong but it was Wilson who had the edge. A strategic and selective Fanning used his priority to best advantage to take the wave of the heat and unleash his typical speed and power, posting a decisive 9.10 to win the heat. Wilson goes home in third place and moves to 9th place on the Jeep Leaderboard.
“It’s a great result for me,” said Wilson. “It’s really got my year back on track. I’m so pleased I got have that Semifinal with Mick. I just wish I could have found an opportunity and the right wave to have a real chance at winning.”
11-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater (USA) was defeated in the Quarterfinals by Kerr. The four-time J-Bay Open winner kept busy throughout the heat, with nine scoring rides, but wasn’t able to find the 6.45 required to surpass Kerr. Slater finishes the event in 5th place and moves from 26th to 19th place on the Jeep Leaderboard.
“I got here about 5 minutes later than I wanted to be this morning,” Slater said. “I was trying to turn it around during the heat but I wasn’t as patient as I could have been. It really came down to priority in the end and I didn’t quite get the score I needed.”
“I love this stretch of events,” Slater continued. “We go to Tahiti and then Trestles which are waves that have historically been on my side and waves I feel I do well at. They show the better side of my surfing I think. I’m not in the title hunt so I’m just enjoying it and enjoying the time in South Africa. Let’s see what Tahiti holds for us. I think the title race is about to get real interesting. Gabriel and John John are right behind Wilko and they both absolutely shred in Tahiti so Wilko should definitely be there right now practicing!”
2014 WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) was eliminated in 5th place by Wilson in Quarterfinal 3. Medina controlled the opening part of the heat with an excellent 8.33. Wilson, however, took the lead with a 10.83 heat total until Medina found a small back-up score to take the top spot. With one minute remaining Wilson, who was in need of a 5.01 for the win, found a wave and was rewarded with a 6.50. Medina answered quickly on a smaller wave but it wasn’t enough. Medina drops down one place to third on the Jeep Leaderboard.
“Everyone is hard to beat and everyone wants to win,” said Medina. “John John and Filipe, all these guys want to win. I’m lucky I got my first title just two years ago. Hopefully we can all keep battling -- that’s what makes it exciting. It’s good to see John and Wilko doing well because I think it will be really exciting at the end of the year.”
Filipe Toledo (BRA) battled Fanning in a thrilling Quarterfinal duel. Fanning opened strong with a 7.67 but Toledo used his air game to earn an 8.67 under Fanning’s priority. Fanning responded with an excellent 9.27 for a series of critical turns and took a narrow lead. With the pair separated by just half a point they went wave-for-wave through the remainder of the heat. Fanning improved his lead with another excellent score, an 8.37, and Toledo continued to chase down an 8.98. The Brazilian was given an opportunity in the final minute but fell on his last maneuver and leaves the event in 5th place, his best ever result at the J-Bay Open, and moves to 13th on the Jeep Leaderboard.
“Definitely it’s a really good result for me,” said Toledo. “I’m really happy to make a really good heat against Mick. It’s always exciting to surf against him. Now I’m just training harder, looking forward and looking for good results. I’m going to Indonesia before Tahiti, right after the US Open, and will probably spend two weeks over there. I’m going to train a lot and try to do my best in Tahiti and at Pipe.”
J-Bay Open Final Results:
1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.70
2: John John Florence (HAW) 17.13
J-Bay Open Semifinal Results:
SF 1: John John Florence (HAW) 16.50 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.43
SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.10 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.17
J-Bay Open Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: John John Florence (HAW) 10.70 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 10.50
QF 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.94 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 11.97
QF 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.33 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.93
QF 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.64 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.40
WSL Jeep Leaderboard Top 5 (after J-Bay Open):
1. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 34,250 pts
2. John John Florence (HAW) 31,900 pts
3. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 29,200 pts
4. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 24,400 pts
5. Mick Fanning (AUS) 23,450 pts
Comments
Scripted much?
Well done to Mick. Unreal surfing in the final despite the relatively small surf. Loved JJ's high speed check-turn on his first wave, just a subtle gouge but super effective.
Im sure its the result the WSL were hoping for, but Mick deserved the win, he was ripping the whole comp..IMO he is surfing better than he ever has.
Great to see John john in the finals also.
Even more fascinating (as a general non-sports fan) is seeing the mainstream media's analysis of Mick's win. It's easy to forget just how well Mick has transcended the surfing bubble over the last few years, and is now a legitimate mainstream sports star in his own right.
What are the opinions out there on the scoring for Medina and Toledo in the quarterfinals?
i thought the judges were pretty spot on in both those heats. Thére was no way they could have gone any higher for Medinas last wave due to the small size of it and it's Medina's own fault in that heat for dropping anchor for so long after his first bomb. Couldn't find too much fault with the judging
They were consistent in scoring bigger set waves and traditional rail surfing over the modern air game all contest. Thought Toledo was a little underscored...combined both airs and rails...just not enough meat on his bones yet!
Good onya MF!
Watched the final ,boring as bat shit. Good on Mick fanny tho for returning to near death experience location and dominating
Dont get me wrong i love mick and he deserved to win he ripped and i get he has had family issues but if anyone ever says being payed tens of thousands for surfing premium waves with one other guy is hard work they need to come to work with me for a week! But good on mick atleast a brazo didnt win,that 3.6 of medinas could easily have gone 4.5 or higher imho
Mick ripped and deserved the win. That second wave was unbelievable I don't know of anybody who could have surfed that better.
Emailed Darren Handley earlier today about Mick's board. Like others, I loved the sight of Mick highlining those sections and the short turning arc off the top. Said DH: "Mick's board was 5'9" x 18 7/8 x 2 5/16. It was 26.8 litres, had a wide swallow with four channels and the nose is about 12 1/2 wide. This is the same board he was getting all those barrels on early in the year at Rainbow Bay."
Aside from everything else surrounding Mick's win - triumphant return to J'Bay etc etc - I thought it was unreal that he was changing up his equipment. Not something we've ever seen Mick do before (that I can recall) and it added an extra spark to his repertoire. He was never gonna beat JJF in the air so needed to take a different approach.
He sure had no trouble getting speed, he was flying on that thing.
I'm going to go out on a hollow limb here and say that although Fanning was flying, I didn't enjoy watching him surf - as I mentioned elsewhere I thought his surfing looked anxious and feverish.
Would much rather watch Julian or JJF or the local guy who lost to Wilko - he had a beautiful smooth style.
Funny you say that when he was in the water down here a Easter he had a real edgy feeling to his surfing. It seems he is wired to rip. I have been in the water with other aliens but Mick is on another level almost as if their is electricity going through his veins. I'd have to disagree about his style though. I was watching with about 7 other blokes and we were all in awe of that second wave. It was something special and as Stu said he did it on different equipment. He is surfing all kinds of stuff including my current love, the twin fin.
Yeah he's amazing and he was surfing at a rate of knots faster than anyone else but I just found his energy and his approach to the wave(s) a bit unsettling!
Of course it says something about how I see life and maybe my age but I didn't find it "nice" to watch - impressive, sure, but it seemed frenzied and kind of desperate at the same time - I don't think the way he's kind of hunched over helps either.
Just as an example, I thought the local guy Steven Sawyer had a great classic style, better than Wilko's (who he lost to).
"Anxious and feverish" ha ha ha.
Don't agree but great description.
Would I be embarrassing myself to say I want the same board.....with an extra litre under the chest ?
Sorry to emulate you Mick, you're just so....so emulatable.
If you wanted a sciphi after Snapper I would've had a chuckle.
But mick's board would be a great fit for your area of coast IMO. Doesn't look like anything new or groundbreaking though, just something new for Mick.
Not a huge fan of Mick generally but he ripped at JBAy the last cpl weeks. Great to watch.
That wave gets the best out of his surfing.
Where do you think my area of coast is ?
Mid norf n' bali
I've only been over East twice in 18 months.
Ha, when I asked you where you were once I meant where you lived. You said mid north so you must've been visiting, ya blowin.
Stunet, a little like that squirrel with his nut in the Ice Age movies.
Yeah Mick deserved to win and handled himself so well throughout the whole contest,so much class.As for That board well i want one too,looked so good to me and a four channel,inspiring to see him change it up from the same old same old,makes it more interesting but fuk he was pushing it as far as he could...good stuff and he saved Wilco for a bit longer.
"That squirrel with his nut in the Ice Age movies" ??!! Jeeze, I reckon ole 'White Lightning' would get a chuckle out of that one..... I bloody did!!! Cheers AndyM
Complete with the occasional eye twitch Simon!
How can mere mortals top that! Never in your wildest dreams would they rearrange the deck chairs in the sporting hall of fame...Captains table Sir Mick!
MF had a great plan with the right board. Suited what he had to do to beat JJF and Medina. If the judges were going to score rail turns and speed, he had it. That was a tight set of final series.
Yeah Tony I want to see the ultimate rail surfing at JBay and Mick is the man. Rio and tresles are the fly zones.