Quiksilver Pro France Winner Medina
The young Brazilian Gabriel Medina, 17, took down Julian Wilson in the final to win his first ever World Tour event.
When the World Tour surfers woke up this morning to a solid 5-foot swell and glassy conditions, I don’t think anybody could have predicted what was going to go down on the final day of the Quiksilver Pro France.
As the quarterfinals got underway, Michel Bourez was matched up with power surfer Taylor Knox. Taylor Knox was in form and used his strong power surfing to win the heat in pretty easy fashion with a total heat score of 15.17 to Bourez’s 9.50.
In the second heat, Gabriel Medina came up against Kelly Slater. A classic David vs Goliath matchup . . . Medina took it to Slater early, which seems to be the best formula to beat the 10-time world champ.
Medina scored a solid 7.33 and a 9.33, which was late in the heat, to score a heat total of 16.66 to Slater’s 3.33 and 5.27 for a heat total of 8.60. Medina put the pressure on early and never looked back as the 17 year old took down the king. Even with the loss Slater will increase his lead in the World title race as Owen Wright was knocked out in round 5.
In the third heat of the quarterfinals Jordy Smith took down Alejo Muniz by a heat total of 15.26 to 13.77. Jordy is back from an injury and was in form as he made his way to the semifinal. In the fourth heat of the quarterfinals Julian Wilson was matched up with Taj Burrow.
Julian Wilson put the heat on Taj early with precision surfing. Taj felt the pressure as he pushed the envelope on each wave he caught, but not really finding his feet in this quarterfinal. Julian Wilson moved onto the semifinal with a heat total of 13.00 to Burrow’s 6.84. Julian is on fire as his air attack is sharp.
Onto the semifinals as Gabriel Medina was matched up with Taylor Knox. It was all Medina in this one as he scored a 9.57 and a perfect 10.00 to back it up. Medina pulled massive airs and did not hold back as he surfed his way right into the final.
Taylor Knox did not have an answer for Medina, but made a great showing at this event. Taylor is a legend of the sport, but today he ran into the future of surfing in a young Brazilian named Gabriel Medina.
In semifinal number two, Julian Wilson was matched up with Jordy Smith. These two surfers are two of the most progressive surfers on the planet. Julian Wilson scored a 9.00 and a 9.50 with an air attack as well as precision surfing to take this heat over Jordy.
Jordy had an excellent event and won the first exchange and led for part of the heat, but in the end Julian would prove to be the better surfer today as he won the heat and moved into the final.
The final was set, with Julian Wilson (AUS) going against Gabriel Medina (BRA). As the two surfers hit the water there was anticipation and mystery. Everybody knew that there would be progression at the highest level as well as an insane air attack to back that up… but to what extent was hard to predict.
These two surfers did not disappoint. Julian took hold of the heat more than halfway through the final with his sex change or sushi roll maneuver (they do not know what to call it yet), which I can personally say, is simply an insane move. He landed the move and went right on surfing as if it didn’t matter that he landed switch and jumped right back to continue ripping the wave apart.
As the heat wound down, Gabriel seemed to gain a little momentum after not being called for interference on Julian’s priority with about 3 minutes left. This was a pivotal point as Julian could have surfed right into Gabriel to take the final. That might have been a cheap way to do it, but it has happened many times in the past.
Julian Wilson was in the lead with about 2 minutes left when he took off on a smaller wave with priority. Not the best tactical move. Gabriel would drop into a wave with 2 minutes and 25 seconds left in the heat and would shred the wave to pieces to score a 9.17. He started with an air reverse to a huge floater and worked the wave to the inside to land a forehand aerial to close out the wave.
Gabriel ended up getting the score he needed late in the heat, while Julian Wilson waited out the back only to hear that Gabriel Medina just won the final. Julian surfed out of his mind in this heat, but a tactical error late may have cost him the final.
Julian Wilson’s two wave total score of 16.10 was not enough to take out the giant killer, Gabriel Medina, who scored a two-wave total of 17.00. Congratulations to Gabriel Medina as he is the 2011 Quiksilver Pro France Champion.
The final was epic as the two surfers brought their A-game to a packed beach and showed everyone what is to come on the World Tour. The World Tour now heads to Portugal for the Rip Curl Pro. There is a solid swell on the way for that one when the event kicks off on the 15th of October. Bring on Portugal!
~ P. Franklin / Guerrilla Surf — Guerrilla.Surfers@gmail.com
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