Brazil, the land of g-strings, caipirinhas, samba, and the Oi Rio Pro. Say what you like about this WSL contest, but there’s never a dull moment when the surfing circus rolls into Rio. This year they set up a second site at a spot called Grumari, after a storm lashed the coast and trashed the competition site at Postinho. After all the complaints last year from surfers who got sick after surfing in the brown murky water at Barra da Tijuca, it was a good call to hold some of the contest at Grumari, a national park where some the beaches haven’t changed for centuries.
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Before we get stuck into the surfing it’s probably worth mentioning that controversy still plagued the contest this year like it has done before. While Conner Coffin and Carissa Moore were walking near the contest area they witnessed a shooting, supposedly a robbery gone wrong. When asked about how he felt Rio after the incident, Conner said, “Other than that it’s been sick here. But seeing someone get shot at a gas station in the middle of the day definitely keeps you on your toes. You just hope you don’t get caught in the cross fire.” So there you have it.
So let’s kick off with Wilko. His winning streak came to and end at Rio, quite abruptly in fact. In Round 2 he was very narrowly beaten by a local wildcard by the name of Deivid Silva. Wilko had priority so he could have paddled into the wave just to deny his competitor the chance, but he let it go and paid the price. Silva managed to boost out of this small ocean offering and nail a full rotation air with a slash to finish up…
That wasn’t the only upset of the contest by a long shot. In Round 3 rookie Jack Freestone knocked out Jordy Smith, and we’ve got more on Freestone later. Later in Round 5 rookie Davey Cathels managed to dispatch with one of the favorites for the contest, last year’s Oi Rio Pro winner Felipe Toledo. He also did it in the dying minutes of the heat, leaving Toledo little time to counter. Watch how Davros beat the defending champ of the Oi Rio Pro…
Now before getting too far ahead let’s backtrack to Round 2 and bring in Gabriel Medina, who was absolutely killing it throughout the contest. As far as we, and everyone else on the planet, can figure out, he became the first pro surfer to ever land am upside-down flip during a competition heat. His achievement earned him a 10 for the judges.
Perhaps he pulled this trick out the bag a little too early because he ended up going out in the semi-finals to Jack Freestone. Told you there’s was more on him. Freestone went into the final against Futures Fins team rider John John Florence, who took out world champ and Komunity Project ambassador Adriano De Souza. With no Brazilians left in the contest, it was a battle between Freestone the Aussie and Florence the Hawaiian to see who would be crowned champ at the 2016 Oi Rio Pro. Who would you have put your money on? Maybe answer that after you watch this…
You guessed it, John John took the lead with two nines early on in the heat and never lost his lead. Both surfers must be stoked with their result, and the Brazilians will undoubtedly be a little upset. Such is life in the WSL! So long Rio…
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