Perfect heats, in surfing, are rare. Like a hole in one in golf; a round one, first blow knockout in the ring; a goalie goal in hockey; an inside the park home run. The sports analogies abound, but bottom line is, they’re nearly impossible. Key word: nearly.
On Finals Day of the Shiseido Tahiti Pro, Gabriel Medina came as close as it comes to achieving the almost impossible, by surfing two excellent scores at pumping Teahupo’o in his Round of 16 matchup against Jake Marshall. First, the Brazilian three-time world champion locked in one 10; then, he backed it up with a 9.83. A heat total of 19.83.
“That’s what we’re here for, perfect waves,” Gabe said after the heat. “I can’t complain. It’s a day that I’m going to remember. It’s actually really slow out there, so it’s kind of tricky. But it seemed like everything was going my way.”
Many folks thought Medina deserved two 10s for his efforts, even a few of the commentators. On the WSL’s Instagram post following the heat, the chatter continued:
“Casual score…. But a 10 point ride all day long. Historic moment lost to casual scoring.” – Owen Wright
“Should have gotten 2 yetis” – Cole Houshmand
“I think @gabrielmedina earned 2 @yeti coolers in that heat!!” – Erin Brooks
Related: Vahine Fierro Wins Tahiti Pro in Historic, XL Conditions: ‘Best Waves of My Life’
In the past, Teahupo’o has hosted a few of pro surfing’s perfect heats. For instance, back in 2016, Kelly Slater scored two 10s in his Round Five heat against Keanu Asing. And that wasn’t the first time for the GOAT. He did the same back in 2005, also at Teahupo’o, in the final against Damien Hobgood. (That was the one when he celebrated by snagging a Fosters from someone in the channel, caught a bomb, and came out chugging.)
Speaking of Slater, the 11-time world champ kicked off Finals Day with a close Round of 16 heat against Ethan Ewing. Up against the ropes, Slater got the wave of the exchange – a high-line, foamball-wrangling tube, which clocked in at a 9.73. In the dying seconds, Slater was still needing a score and, as often happens for him, a wave materialized.
“That was one of my better ones out here,” Slater said. “It wasn’t long. I think I was pretty deep, but it was more about the energy of the foamball, and how high I had to climb above it. It still kind of hit me, and I had to find a line through it. You don’t wanna react when the foam hits you; you wanna go with it. You don’t wanna react, because you’re not that quick. Maybe a cat could do it.”
But Slater’s wildcard dream run came to an end in the Quarterfinals against Ramzi Boukhiam. The waves are still pumping; the trophy’s up for grabs; who’ll take the win?
Tune in here.
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