Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui
\nASP World Title Event No. 5 of 11
\nTeahupo\u2019o, Taiarapu, French Polynesia
\nAugust 20 \u2013 31, 2011<\/p>\n
Kelly Slater Takes Out Billabong Pro Tahiti, Leads ASP World Title Race<\/p>\n
![\"Kelly](\"http:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/uploads\/dfcf929d-3335-d19d.jpg\")
\nPictured: Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, has taken out the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui, claiming the frontrunner spot in the 2011 ASP World Title race in the process.
\nCredit: \u00a9 ASP \/ ROBERTSON<\/p>\n
TEAHUPO\u2019O, Taiarapu\/French Polynesia (Monday, August 29, 2011) \u2013 Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, has claimed the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui over Owen Wright (AUS), 21, in clean four-to-six foot (1.5 \u2013 2 metre) waves at Teahupo\u2019o.<\/p>\n
Event No. 5 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title season, the Billabong Pro Tahiti culminated a historic incarnation of the event today, with the world\u2019s best surfers pushing the performance envelope in incredible conditions.<\/p>\n
Slater began to really pick up steam in today\u2019s conditions, dispatching of an in-form Josh Kerr (AUS), 27, in the Semifinals before meeting lethal goofy-footer Wright in the Finals. The iconic American utilized his superior backhand tube-riding technique to post an 18.43 heat total out of a possible 20, which would prove too much for his younger opponent to overcome.\u201cI felt like I finally hit my stride in the Semifinals this morning,\u201d Slater said. \u201cIn the Final, I fell on a couple of waves that were maybe better than what I ended up getting scored on. It put the pressure on me, and took the pressure off him (Wright). He got that really big one at the end that could have gotten pretty close to the score. These are the best conditions this event has ever run in. It\u2019s been a phenomenal week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming into Tahiti rated No. 6 on the ASP World Title rankings, Slater\u2019s win today rockets the Floridian to the No. 1 spot after a number of top seeds suffered early eliminations at the hands of an unmerciful Teahupo\u2019o.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those weird events where you have to scramble through the early rounds,\u201d Slater said. \u201cEvery year at this event, there are few of the top guys that lose in the early rounds and you have to scramble if you want a result here. You have to be in tune with the tides, swell direction and everything to make sure you get those waves that get you the score.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s win marked Slater\u2019s 47th elite tour victory (out of 67 Finals appearances).<\/p>\n
Wright secured the best result of his young career today, finishing Runner-Up at the Billabong Pro Tahiti. The progressive Australian was a standout at Teahupo\u2019o, notching perfect rides and impressive victories with ease. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was an incredible Final,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWe both got really good waves and I felt like I did what I needed to on them. Kelly (Slater) just happened to find ones that opened up a little better. Congrats to him, and hoping I can get him in the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travis Logie (ZAF), 32, gained entry into the Billabong Pro Tahiti will the withdrawal of Bobby Martinez (USA), 29, from competition. Formerly sitting at the 44th spot on the ASP World Rankings, Logie\u2019s Equal 3rd place finish at Teahupo\u2019o moves the South African up to 34th on the rankings in hopes of cementing himself as an ASP Top 34 member after the September rotation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an unbelievable week for me,\u201d Logie said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it has all sunk in yet. I was in Europe, I barely made it here in time, I\u2019ve been on borrowed equipment, I\u2019ve been banged up on the reef, I had a re-surf with my good mate Jordy (Smith) and I\u2019ve also scored the best result of my career. It\u2019s all happened very fast. So yeah, I\u2019m happy with how everything\u2019s worked out, but would have liked to have made that Final.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh Kerr (AUS), 27, although one of the standouts in both the free surfs and the event, was not be able to overtake Slater in an inconsistent Semifinal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty frustrating out there,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cWe had a little exchange in the beginning and there just weren\u2019t any more opportunities through the heat. I thought we\u2019d have a bit more action with the tide push, but it was the opposite. I\u2019m pretty disappointed. It\u2019s a good result for me of course, just thought I could go a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy Flores (FRA), 23, put in some of the most inspiring performances of the event, bagging the biggest waves and even surfing a Perfect 20 heat in yesterday\u2019s idyllic conditions. For his heroics, Flores was awarded the Andy Irons Award for most committed performance of the event. This is the inaugural year for the award, honoring the late ASP and Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion Andy Irons.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndy (Irons) meant everything to me,\u201d Flores said. \u201cHe has been the guy I\u2019ve looked up to my whole life. In heavy waves, in all waves, he was the best and to earn this award is so special for me. He inspired everyone on tour and he\u2019s been my inspiration in Tahiti. I know he was smiling on this event. Thank you Andy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui will be available via http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com<\/p>\n
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
\n1 \u2013 Kelly Slater (USA) 18.43
\n2 \u2013 Owen Wright (AUS) 17.10<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
\nSF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.50 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.60
\nSF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 19.50 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.40<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
\nQF 1: Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.94 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.83
\nQF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.50 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 6.17
\nQF 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) 18.07 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 17.14
\nQF 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.74 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 13.10<\/p>\n
ASP WORLD TITLE RANKINGS TOP 5 (After Billabong Pro Tahiti)
\n1. Kelly Slater (USA) 26,950 pts
\n2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 26,500 pts
\n3. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 26,200 pts
\n4. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 22,750 pts
\n5. Owen Wright (AUS) 21,900 pts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui ASP World Title Event No. 5 of 11 Teahupo\u2019o, Taiarapu, French Polynesia August 20 \u2013 31, 2011 Kelly Slater Takes Out Billabong Pro Tahiti, Leads ASP World Title Race Pictured: Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, has taken out the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented … Continue reading “Kelly Slater Takes Out Billabong Pro Tahiti, Leads ASP World Title Race”<\/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-13936","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\/13936","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=13936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13936\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}