David Do Carmo and the delights of a wildcard, Rio De Janeiro

Today at the Billabong Rio Pro, Mick Fanning was uncharacteristically eliminated from round two. And even more uncharacteristically, by a wildcard; David Do Carmo. “It’s amazing to be here in my country and surfing against Mick,” said Davey. “I’ve never had a feeling like that before. I’ve been watching Mick my whole life. He’s the best in the world. I’m so happy to beat him. Before I went to the water everyone wished me good luck and I got a lot of energy from them. I put it all in the water. I think I got lucky too. If Mick got my waves he would have got big scores.”

Mick simply couldn’t find his groove in the funk beachbreak and while he watched plenty of decent waves ridden, was rarely on any of them himself. “Everything felt great leading up to the heat,” Mick said. “My aim was to get a few of those rights and they didn’t really show up. David did great and that’s the way it goes sometimes. I didn’t really feel any pressure. Everyone’s got an opportunity to go and do their best and today his was better than mine.”

Here’s David hooking the sweet foam out of a punchy left, while his v proud countrymen watch on.

Full daily wrap from Rio here.