Ribeira d’Ilhas, Ericeira – Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 19, and Mahina Maeda (HAW) 16, have won the Allianz ASP World Junior Championships in clean 3-to-4-foot surf at the iconic Ribeira D’Ilhas righthand pointbreak in Ericeira. Vasco Ribeiro claims a historic ASP World Junior Title as the first Portuguese surfer to ever do so and notched the coveted trophy in his home country today.
“I have no words to describe this moment, I just want to thank everyone who’s been supporting me,” Ribeiro said. “It’s been a long week, especially today I surfed four times. I think the final was actually the heat I was less pressured, I just wanted to do good and I knew I had to post something big cause Italo is such a great surfer.”
Ribeiro built momentum through the early rounds and put on his best performance in the final to dispatch of Italo Ferreira (BRA) with an incredible 18.63 total. The young Portuguese up-and-comer, recently crowned ASP European Junior Champion previously bested other event standouts Joshua Moniz (HAW) and Deivid Silva (BRA) on his way to claim the event win.
Runner-up today in Portugal, Ferreira put up a good fight but couldn’t match Ribeiro’s rhythm in the final and was eventually put in a combination situation he wouldn’t recover from. The current World No.8 on the QS rankings, was on fire all-week in Ericeira and notched another excellent result after his quarterfinal in the Cascais Billabong Pro two weeks ago. Ferreira will head home full of confidence before the big QS showdown in Hawaii where he will try to obtain a maiden ticket for the WCT.
“I’m super stoked with that second place, it was a great day of pumping waves again,” Ribeiro said. “This place is amazing and I loved it, surfing here was so sick on my backhand and congrats Vasco he really ripped. This was my last year in the juniors, so now my focus will shift to the Prime in Brazil and Hawaii.”
Mahina Maeda concluded a very successful Portuguese campaign with the ASP World Junior Title today, after consistently posting great scores to advance in first in all her matchups. At only 16 years-old, Maeda stamped her authority on the Junior talent pool and will look to take her act to the next level against the World’s Best on the QS tour next season.
“I can’t believe it, I’m so stoked and beyond,” Maeda said. “Watching Ella (Williams) win last year, it gave me some confidence and the urge to win. I felt like I had the potential, but came here and surfed it heat by heat. Having everybody out there supporting me was just amazing.”
Along with the prestigious title, Maeda will also receive a wildcard spot in the highest seeded rounds of all the major QS events in 2015, potentially easing her campaign for a Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour qualification.
Guadeloupe’s Tessa Thyssen (GLP) 17, whom also won the ASP European Junior series this season, lead the regional contingent with a firm grip on the competition but unfortunately couldn’t compose with the tricky conditions in the final. Runner-up to Maeda at Ribeira D’Ilhas, Thyssen however nets an excellent result for her first participation in the World Junior Championships.
“Overall I feel amazing cause this event’s been great for me, but I’m a little bit disappointed about that final obviously,” Thyssen admitted. “Congrats Mahina, she’s been on fire here and really deserves the win. I think I’ll go bother her in Hawaii this winter and surf good waves. I put a little too much pressure on myself in the final and the conditions weren’t easy, but that’s okay. I’ll focus on the QS next year I think, I really want to go further and keep improving.”
Local hero Tomas Fernandes (PRT) 18, came extremely close to making an all-Portuguese final when he had Ferreira against the ropes in the final moments of their semifinal matchup, but the talented Brazilian came back firing and deprived Fernandes of an inaugural final at the World Junior stage. Fernandes pushed his performance level this week and will be one to look out for in the coming seasons.
The Allianz ASP World Junior Championships is supported by Allianz, Portuguese Waves, Moche, Ericeira Surfshop, Mafra, City of Ericeira, Sagres and Villa Gale Hotel among others.
Men’s FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 18.63
2 – Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.77
Women’s FINALIST RESULTS:
1 – Mahina Maeda (HAW) 13.56
2 – Tessa Thyssen (GLP) 13.17
Men’s SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 16.80 def. Tomas Fernandes (PRT)16.50
SF 2: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 15.34 def. Deivid Silva (BRA) 13.83
Women’s SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Tessa Thyssen (GLP) 9.67 def. Chelsea Tuach (BRB) 8.67
SF 2: Mahina Maeda (HAW) 15.93 def. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 11.33
Men’s QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Tomas Fernandes (PRT) 13.90 def. Soli Bailey (AUS) 12.14
QF 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 16.00 def. Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI) 7.50
QF 3: Deivid Silva (BRA) 17.77 def. Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 6.04
QF 4: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 14.17 def. Takumi Yasui (JPN) 13.00
Men’s Rd 4 RESULTS:
Heat 5: Mateia Hiquily (PYF) 15.34 def. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 12.50
Heat 6: Deivid Silva (BRA) 12.83 def. Tom Cloarec (FRA) 12.60
Heat 7: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 14.66 def. Joshua Moniz (HAW) 11.00
Heat 8: Takumi Yasui (JPN) 13.24 def. Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 10.96