It was a stop-start kind of day at the Quiksilver Pro full of fatal consequences for the big names in round two. Julian Wilson and Kelly Slater were knocked out of the event at the hands of Injury Wildcards, while tour Rookie Ryan Callinan creamed Jordy Smith. The veterans looked old and rickety against the tour freshman as we saw the first signs of a changing of the guard.
Let’s see how it went down!
Adriano de Souza v Wade Carmichael
“The only thing that has changed for me is the pressure. It’s such a weight to carry this yellow jersey but I’ve been on tour for ten years so I know how to control the pressure,” said a very confident sounding Adriano after a win against trials winner Wade Carmichael.
Wade Carmichael posed a serious threat to the world champ in the opening heat of round two. Captain Caveman jumped out of the gates early, blasting the lip and putting the pressure squarely on Adriano. Relying on a more vertical attack the world champ answered back. A more experienced ADS held priority for much of the heat laying Carmichael to rest after hammering a wall to Rainbow Bay and posting a solid 7.53.
Stu Kennedy v Kelly Slater
One of the upsets of the event came by way of Stu Kennedy’s dismantling of Kelly Slater in heat three. In my humble opinion those banana boards of Kelly’s look really, really bad. Yes, we’ve been guilty of geeking out, but the revamped elf shoe designs didn’t work for everyone before, so why would they now? “Unless it’s barrelling and top-to-bottom the length of the bank they just don’t work,” one anonymous shaper told Tracks. While Kelly failed to get the banana into gear Stu surfed faster, more dynamic and beat his boss on one of his own boards. The Lennox Head local now faces Gabriel Medina in round 3.
Read: Stu Kennedy Crushes Kelly In A Sci-Phi Moment
Jordy Smith v Ryan Callinan
Is Jordy Smith one of the biggest underachievers on tour? Surely, you have to say yes. He’s been hyped as a genuine world title threat for years but the blinding light of surf stardom has created a huge roadblock for the big man. He can murder a wave when he wants but put him in a jersey and he crumbles. Today he fell to tour Rookie, Ryan Callinan who punctuated every backhand hook with more sting than the last. The hungrier, faster, confident looking goofy-footer was the aggressor throughout their heat and made the South African pay dearly for playing a patient game.
On the pressure of facing Jordy, Callinan told Tracks, “I think if you’re going to be surfing against someone like Jordy Smith you’re going to have to go pretty hammer and tongs.”
Conner Coffin v Kai Otton
The new American hero is here. Like Callinan, Conner Coffin is another of the Rookies that look like they belong on the main stage. Taking cues from Californian elder and former CT competitor, Brad Gerlach, Coffin brings an element of California soul to a jock-heavy roster of Americans who have done little damage on the CT. Namely, Nat Young, Kolohe Andino and former tour cellar dweller, Brett Simpson. Kelly, well he’s in a league of his own.
“My best approach is kind of being Zen and not worrying about trying to destroy the other guy. I just want to go out and catch good waves and know that I surfed the waves the best that I could … I’m happy,” said the very humble 22-year-old after his first win on centre stage.
Keanu Asing v Kainoa Igarashi
I’m still not completely convinced by the 18-year old Japanese-American-surfer. A win by 0.01 is a win I know. But he looked nervous and bobbled on a lot of waves during this heat. This one could of gone either way. Hopefully for Kainoa it’s not just a case of beginner’s luck and he takes a big boost of confidence into his clash against Jeremy Flores in Round 3.
“I’ve never felt these kinds of nerves in my life before,” said Igarashi fizzing after the win. “I think this heat win is really going to give me a confidence in my surfing and for the rest of the contest and for the rest of my surf career, really. I’m just really happy that I have amazing boards, amazing support, and I cannot ask for anything more.”
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 2 Results:
Heat 1:
Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.30 def. Wade Carmichael (AUS) 11.00
Heat 2: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 13.10 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.87
Heat 3: Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 15.73 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.10
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.50 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 10.83
Heat 5: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 15.74 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.00
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 14.36 def. Davey Cathels (AUS) 12.66
Heat 7: Conner Coffin (USA) 13.33 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 13.16
Heat 8: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.37 def. Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 13.47
Heat 9: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 12.27 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 12.26
Heat 10: Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.43 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 9.07
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Remaining Round 2 Match-Ups:
Heat 11:
Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
Heat 12: Matt Banting (AUS) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)
A huge thanks to Isuzu for providing the Tracks team with vehicles for the 2016 Quiksiliver Pro Gold Coast.
