In his 50th WT victory, Kelly Slater has won the 2012 Hurley Pro, Lowers over Joel Parkinson. En route to his third consecutive win at the Hurley Pro, Kelly got real busy, real early and kinda had Joel wrapped up from the start. There was a frontside air-reverse from the champ (who was riding a quad), but otherwise the final was surfed by both parties with pocket wraps, tail whips and rail work. Interesting, considering the nature and mechanics of Lowers. It was also the second consecutive final in which Joel has played bridesmaid (he lost to Mick Fanning at Chopes).
“I know I went out there feeling like I didn’t have anything to lose because Parko was the form guy,” said Kelly. “He was pretty much the standout in every round. He schooled Medina yesterday somehow and was combo’ing everybody. I just figured I had to get myself on the best waves and let go a little bit, but it got really quiet out there. It was the first time something really felt like it went my way when they (the judges) took my priority away. By the time they announced it, Joel was above the wave and couldn’t catch it. That was the turning point for me. Every contest I’ve won, there’s some moment where things go my way.”
Joel, while obvs disappointed at not winning, was still happy with second and the solidification of his runner-up spot on the WT rankings. “A Final is a good result,” he said. “Tahiti kind of hurt a lot. I felt like I was on a bit of a good one this week. It was all going well. Every time I paddled out, I had a lot of waves and Kelly had those heats where he had no waves and I was thinking, ‘my mojo is stronger.’ Sure enough, the Final was a slow one. It was one of those ones where you feel like you’re on point all week and Mother Nature just lets you down.”
The next WT stop will be the Quiksilver Pro, France from September 28 to October 8, 2012.
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES FINAL RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.50 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.00
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.27 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.34
Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.26 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.43
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.60 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.50
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.17 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.93
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.16 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.04
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.60 def. John John Florence (HAW) 11.60
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.90 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.76
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.94 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.44
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.93 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 9.57
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 18.30 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.57
And, if you care about such things, this is the board Kelly rode:
Photo by Channel Islands
