John Florence wins the 2012 Billabong Pro, Rio

John Florence, 19 years old and from Hawaii, has won the Billabong Pro, Rio De Janeiro.He beat Joel Parkinson in the final at Barra Da Tijuca with a backside full rote on his first scoring wave (9.10) and a barrel to club sandwich combo on his second (7.27). “I can’t believe it,” said John. “I didn’t even know it was $100k. I’m gonna put it (novelty cheque surfboard) in my board bag and take it straight to the bank. This helps my confidence so much. I have a lot of confidence going into events with barreling waves like Pipe. Obviously I have a lot of confidence in barrels from my experience at Pipe, but coming here, I wasn’t expecting a big result. I was just hoping to make a few heats.”

Joel’s combined total of 11.44 wasn’t enough to put him in from of John, but the Australian now takes the ratings lead. “It’s a good feeling I suppose,” said Joel. “It’s a long way to go and I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I’m stoked. I’ve had a couple of really nice consistent results. I have been in this position before though so I’m hoping to maintain my performance level throughout the rest of the year.”

BILLABONG RIO PRO FINAL RESULTS:
1 – John John Florence (HAW) 16.37
2 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.44

BILLABONG RIO PRO SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.83 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.00
SF 2: John John Florence (HAW) 17.94 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.86

BILLABONG RIO PRO QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.90 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 12.60
QF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.57 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 5.90
QF 3: John John Florence (HAW) 14.94 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 9.43
QF 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.84 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.27

CURRENT ASP WCT TOP 10 (After Billabong Rio Pro):
1. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 19700 pts
2. Mick Fanning (AUS) 18250 pts
3. Josh Kerr (AUS) 18200 pts
4. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17200 pts
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 15750 pts
6. John John Florence (HAW) 15750 pts
7. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15700 pts
8. Kelly Slater (USA) 13700 pts
9. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12250 pts
10. Owen Wright (AUS) 12150 pts