Owen Wright wins the 2015 Fiji Pro

“Oh my,” was all Martin Potter could manage as Owen Wright, already sitting on a 17.10 combined total in the final of the 2015 Fiji Pro against Julian Wilson, found an exit on a perfect 10 – his third of the event. He’d then paddle out to steam through yet another perfect score. Owen was the standout performer at this event, clocking a perfect 20 heat yesterday, and winning the final with another perfect 20 heat today. ‘History’ is a word we usually try to avoid, but… Owen really did make it today.

“Something special was happening out there today,” said Owen. “Its just perfect, you can’t really say much more.”

Observations below by Damien Fahrenfort…

Owen Wright.
Holy shit, wasn’t that a treat? Two 20-point heats. I’m really stoked to see Owen break the spell and get a win, especially like that. It’s actually quite unusual when someone peaks like he did yesterday and then win the comp, they usually have a shocker the next day, sorta use up their good karma. But not Owen, he pulled through. As incredible as his barrel riding was, his turns were almost better. He was holding his line and slamming the lip straight outta the barrel. Where a lot of guys would come out with so much speed they’d have to cut back, Owen managed to do what Slater does and come out the front into a bottom turn.

Webcast doesn’t quite do it justice, uh? WSL/Kirstin

Jules, hey.
If Julian never wins a title it will be more of a shame than TB not ever winning one. The guy is so incredible in every condition. His no-hands barrel in the quarters into that closeout was as well ridden as John John or Kelly would’ve done. He charges as hard as anyone on tour and then has the airs to back it up. I really hope this event sets him up for a good run the rest of the year, because he really lacks consistency and I just want to see him surf.

Photo: WSL/Stephen Robertson

Kai Ottz.
Bless his soul. He had a serious dig in the quarters and unfortunately got hurt. Good to hear he didn’t get too destroyed. Ottz was surfing really well this event and looked like he had more energy than usual. Only bummer is, he’s gotta get some more meat on those bones. He looks a bit weak compared to some of the guys but he does a great job of figuring out how to get around this.

WSL/Kirstin

Flores…
Some of the best surfing done this week was by Jeremy and I was really stoked to hear his interview after the semis. Where he’d usually be pissed off and blame someone or something for losing he stepped up said he shouldn’t have fallen and that might have been the difference. Those JS boards look great under his feet and I think he’s gonna have a great rest of the year.

Fiji Pro Final Results:
1: Owen Wright (AUS) 20.00
2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 7.84

Fiji Pro Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.50 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 8.66
SF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.93 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.57

Fiji Pro Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.36 def. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 17.00
QF 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.37 def. Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 7.40
QF 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.60 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.84
QF 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.83 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 12.90

2015 WSL Jeep Leaderboard Top 5 (after Fiji Pro):
Adriano de Souza (BRA) 28,000 pts
Filipe Toledo (BRA) 27,450 pts
Owen Wright (AUS) 26,250 pts
Mick Fanning (AUS) 24,950 pts
Julian Wilson (AUS) 23,450 pts

****

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