The Billabong Rio Pro gets underway today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, just about a month before the country plays host to the FIFA World Cup. While competitive surfing certainly doesn’t have the same following as the frenzy that encapsulates
The Billabong Rio Pro gets underway today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, just about a month before the country plays host to the FIFA World Cup. While competitive surfing certainly doesn’t have the same following as the frenzy that encapsulates the globe during World Cup competition, this particular event may have more meaning to us on Kauai.
The fourth stop on the World Championship Tour season for both the men and women will feature four competitors from the Garden Isle, up from the usual three. They will all be hoping for a good result at the popular South American destination.
On the men’s side, Kilauea’s Sebastian Zietz gets the competition going at the opening horn, paddling out in the very first three-man heat along with Brazil’s Adriano de Souza and Portugal’s Tiago Pires. Zietz enters the event tied for 21st place on the season. He has a pair of Equal 13th place finishes since starting the year with a 25th. It’s a crowded and competitive area of the standings with many surfers all hoping to stay in the top 22 by year’s end for automatic re-qualification for next season.
De Souza is the highest seed in the heat, ranked sixth on the CT and coming off of a quarterfinal appearance at Bells Beach. Pires sits in 26th place for the season.
A couple other first-round heats to keep an eye on will be Taj Burrow, Adam Melling and Brett Simpson in the third heat, as well as John John Florence, C.J. Hobgood and Matt Wilkinson in the final heat.
On the women’s side, three of the 18 competitors are Kauai raised. As usual, Wailua’s Malia Manuel and Princeville’s Alana Blanchard highlight the field, but Princeville’s Tatiana Weston-Webb will also be making her World Championship Tour debut. Having just won the Chain Resources Pro Junior and reaching the semifinals at the Port Taranaki Pro, Weston-Webb enters the contest for American Courtney Conlogue, who had to withdraw with an ankle injury she suffered at Bells Beach.
Manuel is having a great start to her 2014 season and comes into the contest ranked sixth on the season. She’s reached the quarterfinals in all three events to this point, taking Equal 5th at each stop throughout Australia. Manuel has the final heat of the opening round and will be surfing against Oahu’s Alessa Quizon and charging American Lakey Peterson.
It’s been a difficult start for Blanchard, who will be hoping to turn her season around after a struggle through the Australian leg of the tour. She hasn’t managed to move past the second round yet, taking three Equal 13th place finishes. Her opening heat will feature a tough pair of Aussies in second-ranked Stephanie Gilmore and 10th-ranked Laura Enever.
As the third Kauai wahine, Weston-Webb won’t be easing into her WCT career. She goes up against defending champion Tyler Wright, of Australia, and France’s Pauline Ado in the fourth opening-round heat. Wright turned it up during the last two legs of the Aussie tour, reaching the final both times for a pair of seconds and is ranked third in the WCT standings. But Tati has had some recent success against Ado, having surfed against and beaten her during the Port Taranaki Pro just a couple weeks ago in New Zealand.
Tati was actually born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, so while Kauai is her home, having her first CT event in her family’s home nation should make it even more special.
Tune into channels 250 or 1250 for live action from Rio, or visit www.aspworldtour.com for webcast and event information.
