With fellow Aussies and top 10 surfers Julian Wilson and Ryan Callinan falling out of the draw, tube specialist Owen Wright (AUS) has a big chance to move into the top 10 and well into Olympic qualification for 2020. Wright’s trademark poise in the tube earned him an 18.50 heat total and a spot into the Quarterfinals while his opponent and local favorite Michel Bourez (FRA) was narrowly pipped at the post.
“That was a very special heat to have Michel (Bourez) here in Tahiti and go wave for wave with him the entire time — it felt like a special heat going down” “I was up at 3:00 am this morning just thinking about what today would bring so I’m sure I’ll struggle tonight to sleep after an amazing day. This place is so beautiful and gives us so much good energy especially when we’ve got waves like this.”
Another quarterfinalist that will benefit from the top 10 carnage today is South African Jordy Smith (ZAF) who is poised for a run at his maiden title with a solid result in Tahiti. Smith made it past Ricardo Christie (NZL) and former event winner Julian Wilson on his way to a Quarterfinal matchup with Adriano de Souza.
“I’m sure it’s tough for those top guys to go down,” “I don’t want to think about them too much, I just need to do my thing and focus on my surfing. That win was a tough one, Julian is a past winner out here and is one of the best so it was never going to be easy. I just need to cruise and focus on tomorrow.”
Caio Ibelli (BRA), 2019 CT Rookie Seth Moniz (HAW), former event winner Jeremy Flores (FRA) and CT comeback kid Jadson Andre (BRA) all displayed brilliance in the challenging conditions to progress into the Quarterfinals which will run tomorrow as we look to crown our 2019 event winner at the Tahiti Pro Teahupo’o presented by Hurley. |