Joel Parkinson Claims Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Solid Conditions at Kirra<\/p>\n
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KIRRA, Australia (Wednesday, March 11, 2009) \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS), 27, has won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile, defeating fellow finalist Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, in solid six-to-eight foot (3 metre) surf at Kirra.<\/p>\n
After a 12-year hiatus, today\u2019s action brought the ASP World Tour back to Kirra for the Finals of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. Whilst it was not classic Kirra, the challenging conditions at the historic pointbreak offered churning barrels with massive scoring potential.<\/p>\n
Parkinson, winner of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in 2002, was fearless from the outset in the hard-fought Final, collecting an excellent 8.83 out of a possible 10 on his opening ride, breaking his board in the process.\u201cThat first wave was a good one but I came down funny on the floater and buckled my board,\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cI came in and just got energized when I heard the score and everyone on the beach really pumped me up. The crowd is awesome. There are so many people. Down here you don\u2019t really see it, but from the water you can see the crowd on the hill and all along Coolangatta and even down Kirra Point. I could hear them roaring \u2013 it was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hometown favorite would return to the lineup to collect a bevy of high scores, including a 7.50 and an 8.17, before nailing his second perfect 10 of the day, pushing his heat total to an unsurpassable 18.84 out of a possible 20.<\/p>\n
“I was thinking it has been a long time between drinks [ASP World Tour event wins],\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cUntil the hooter blew, I didn\u2019t know what emotion to feel. It\u2019s the kind of thing where you\u2019re surrounded by a lot of people and it\u2019s not until you pull yourself back and you\u2019re together with family and friends, that\u2019s really when you feel all of your emotions. Right now I\u2019m on a high and I\u2019m buzzing, it will be a few hours to let it all sink in.”<\/p>\n
Parkinson now sits atop the ASP World Tour ratings, in excellent position for his 2009 campaign for the ASP World Title.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a long way to go and there are a lot of dangerous surfers out there,\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to get too far ahead of myself. It is a long year with a lot of stops [on the Dream Tour]. It is going to be a great year.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Souza, former ASP World Junior Champion and into his first Final ever in an ASP World Tour event, was unable to find a rhythm against Parkinson, only grabbing a 7.00 out of a possible 10 as a noteworthy score.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw Kirra break a couple of years ago but I am too young to have seen it break like it has in the past,\u201d De Souza said. \u201cThese are the best waves so far during my time in Australia. I am really glad with everything. Second Place for me is an amazing result. I will just keep trying to do the same thing at the next event.”<\/p>\n
Despite not claiming the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, De Souza\u2019s Runner-Up finish today sees him rocket to No. 2 on the ASP World Tour ratings, putting himself in excellent position for the season ahead.<\/p>\n
“It was my first Final ever so I\u2019m happy and glad with my performance,\u201d De Souza said. \u201cI will just try to keep focused and determined for the rest of the year. It is amazing for me. It is a big thing that has happened in my life this Final.”<\/p>\n
Mick Fanning (AUS), 27, former ASP World Champion (2007) and two-time past winner of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (\u201905, \u201907), surfed the heat of the event this morning, narrowly going down to Parkinson, 19.93 to 17.66.<\/p>\n
\u201cCyclone Hamish turned it on for us,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those days where you can have one of the best surfs of your life or one of the worst surfs of your life. It wasn\u2019t the best surf of my life, but it was definitely up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incredible conditions provided the ideal forum for the two locals to raise the performance bar, and while the lead flip-flopped several times throughout the Semifinal, it was Parkinson\u2019s perfect 10 that would nail the coffin shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see Joel\u2019s 9.90 but I saw his 10,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cWhen his head popped out, I knew. I said to myself I would give that a 10. Congratulations to him, he surfed an awesome heat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taj Burrow (AUS), 30, finished Equal 3rd at today\u2019s Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, going down to eventual event Runner-Up De Souza in Semifinal 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt really lost at sea,\u201d Burrow said. \u201cIt was a total lucky dip, then the wind squall came through and it got even more wild and washed out. Every time a wave came that looked any good, Adriano [de Souza] was sitting next to me with priority. I was just really unlucky. Last time I surfed here, I got a perfect 10 as a wildcard, so I have good memories of Kirra. I would have loved a 10 at the end of that heat. I\u2019m just looking forward to the next event now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Highlights from the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast will be available via www.quiksilverpro.com.au<\/p>\n
The next stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour will be the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach from April 7 \u2013 18, 2009.<\/p>\n
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST FINAL RESULTS:
\n1 \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.83
\n2 \u2013 Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.30<\/p>\n
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
\nSF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 19.93 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.66
\nSF 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.84 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 5.34<\/p>\n
CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 5:
\n1. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 1200 points
\n2. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 1032 points
\n3. Taj Burrow (AUS) 876 points
\n3. Mick Fanning (AUS) 876 points
\n5. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 732 points
\n5. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 732 points
\n5. Adrian Buchan (AUS)732 points
\n5. Damien Hobgood (USA) 732 points<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Joel Parkinson Claims Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Solid Conditions at Kirra KIRRA, Australia (Wednesday, March 11, 2009) \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS), 27, has won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile, defeating fellow finalist Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, in solid six-to-eight foot (3 metre) surf at Kirra. After a 12-year hiatus, … Continue reading “Joel Parkinson Claims Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Solid Conditions at Kirra”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}