Who Blew Up
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1. Kieran Perrow.
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If there was ever a case of the blue collar Aussie dingo coming good it has to be Kieran Perrow’s performance at Pipeline this week. At the start of the week Kieran was staring at the harsh reality of relegation from the top 32 and not making the cut. By the end of the week he was standing atop the Billabong Pipe Masters podium with the special Lopez winners trophy in hand, the prize purse in his back pocket and ranked 19th on the One World Rankings thereby ensuring that he will start next year’s elite tour at Snapper. In some of the most hectic surf in recent years for a Pipe Masters Perrow put his body on the line and charged like a wild man.
By the time he paddled out in the finals he looked like he was held together with duct tap he was so strapped up from his frequent encounters with the reef. As he jets home to Aussie and no doubt takes a few days to let his body heal he will bask in the knowledge that he has joined an elite group of surfers who are ‘Pipe Masters’. How about that for your maiden World Tour victory when starting the week facing relegation? As Kelly Slater said from the commentary booth at the end of the contest, “it’s a storybook ending”. |
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| 2. John Florence. |
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What a performance from the young Hawaiian this week at Pipeline, inspiring to say the least. If you haven’t watched how he surfs Pipe do yourself a favour and go and watch the heats on demand. He displays an affinity for Pipe that while it is not surprising is sensational to watch.
He raised the bar significantly at this event and in the process also accumulated enough points to take out the Triple Crown which it must be said almost seems like his birthright. Anyway it is now official, his name is in the record books and he becomes the youngest winner of the Triple Crown ever with many more dangerous competitive years to come. |
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| 3. Travis Logie. |
Image by Kelly Cestari |
For sheer guts determination and competitive spirit we have to salute Travis who has fought some titanic battles this year often against hectic odds in order to requalify for next years tour. He ends up ranked 31 on the One World rankings and squeaks in to prolong his career at the elite end of our sports competitive platforms. Go Travis!
An honourable mention must go to Kelly Cestari who swam all three days at The Pipe Masters to bring us back the pics. No small feat if you consider the size of the surf especially on days one and two. Nice work KC! |
| Kelly Cestari's water shots: |
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| Evan Valiere |
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| Ian Walsh |
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| Kai Otton |
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And Who Blew It?
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1. Kelly Slater.
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Losing to Joel after overcoming a rampant John-John has got to sting the king. Slater was so awed by John-John’s performance that he forgot how dangerous Parko can be when he is lurking in the shadows like a villain intent on some robbery.
That is exactly what Joel did to Kelly, he came out of the shadows and robbed him in broad daylight just after Kelly thought he’d slayed the John-John dragon. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more of Parko in this sort of form next year, it would certainly spice things up. |
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2. Joel Parkinson.
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| Desperate for a win in the Pipe Masters Joel (who surfed brilliantly when he got the waves) succumbed to an in form Perrow who had the force of the universe behind him. So ended another year that Parko would probably rather forget as he ends up number 2 in the rankings and the bridesmaid to Slater.... again despite beating him in the semis. |
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| 3. Michel Bourez. |
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| The hard charging Tahitian was in the running for the Triple Crown Title, he just had to make one more heat into the finals and the title was his. Unfortunately for him he was stopped in his tracks by a rampant Perrow, thereby leaving John-John with enough cumulative points to take the prestigious title instead. |
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