The ASP World Championship’s third stop this year, the Billabong Pro Rio, was everything put picture perfect. Poor weather conditions and minimalistic waves forced event planners to call for a total of five consecutive lay days. While some of the surfers took advantage of this time by hitting the beaches, others were ready to get the show on the road. Thankfully, the waves picked back up and the show did go on with Jordy Smith coming away as the winner. To learn more about this young star’s event win at the ASP World Championship Tour, keep reading.
It wasn’t an easy win for Jordy Smith by any means. During the final match, he went neck and neck with Adriano de Souza with 2-to-4 foot waves. Smith used these waves to his advantage by gaining both speed and air time, which won over the judges by receiving a whopping 9.33 score to beat Adriano de Souza’s 8.50 score. Smith said he was always confident that he would win an ASP World Championship Tour event outside of South Africa but needed to prove it to himself, and that’s exactly what he did at the Billabong Pro Rio.
Born in Durban, South Africa, Jordy Smith started surfing when he was just 6 years old. In 2007, he won the World Qualifying Series, which inadvertently put him in the limelight. It wasn’t long before Jordy Smith was a household name in the surfing industry. While this recent win at the Billabong Pro wasn’t his first ASP Tour event win, it was his first away from South African soil. Jordy Smith has won two other ASP World Championship Tour events in the past, both of which took place in South Africa. Smith claims this recent win was a huge morale booster for him since it proved that he would win outside of his home territory.
Following the Billabong Pro Rio, Jordy Smith now sits in a comfortable second place with 18,250 points. The ASP World Championship Tours first place leader is Brazil’s Adriano de Souza with 18,500 points. As you may remember, these two pro surfers went up against each other during the final round of the Billabong Pro, so there’s definitely some tense competition going on between them. In any case, we’ll have to wait until the upcoming event scheduled on the tour to see who pulls away. The next event takes place in Fiji on June 4th, so mark your calenders because it’s going to be a good one!