![\"Mick](\"http:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/uploads\/ab0512d0-1470-88f2.jpg\")
\nCaption: Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, two-time ASP World Champion and current frontrunner on the ASP WCT rankings, claims the 2012 Billabong Pro Tahiti.
\nImage Credit: \u00a9 ASP\/ ROBERTSON<\/p>\n
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International<\/p>\n
Billabong Pro Tahiti
\nStop No. 5 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour
\nTeahupo’o, Taiarapu\/Tahiti
\nAugust 16 – 27, 2012 <\/p>\n
Mick Fanning Claims Billabong Pro Tahiti, Cements ASP WCT Rankings’ Lead<\/p>\n
\nCaption: Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, two-time ASP World Champion and current frontrunner on the ASP WCT rankings, claims the 2012 Billabong Pro Tahiti.
\nImage Credit: \u00a9 ASP\/ ROBERTSON<\/p>\n
TEAHUPO’O, Taiarapu\/Tahiti (Monday, August 27, 2012) – Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, has claimed the 2012 Billabong Pro Tahiti over compatriot and Gold Coast stablemate Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, in classic four-to-six foot (1 \u2013 1.5 metre) waves at Teahupo\u2019o.
\nEvent No. 5 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti culminated in dynamic fashion today, with swell pulsing for the all-Australian Final.<\/p>\n
Fanning was put on the ropes early in the Final bout with Parkinson collecting a 9.50 and an 8.87 on his opening two rides. However, former event runner-up fought back mid-heat with an impressive 9.37 before backing it up with a nail-biting 9.50 to take the lead and hold it as the buzzer ran out. With today\u2019s win, Fanning has become the first Australian since Mark Occhilupo (AUS), 46, in 1999 to claim the Billabong Pro Tahiti title and has further cemented himself into the frontrunner spot on the 2012 ASP WCT rankings.\u201cIt\u2019s a 35 minute Final so I knew the waves were going to come,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cI just had to be patient. It\u2019s Teahupo\u2019o so it goes on and off. You can get two 10s in two minutes so I knew I just needed to keep my composure throughout the Final. Joel (Parkinson) is such an incredible surfer and he\u2019s gotten so good out here. He raced out to an early lead and I knew I needed to focus on my own game plan. I got that good score about mid-heat and then was able to sell him when he had priority on one that didn\u2019t pan out for him. The second wave was the one and it\u2019s an incredible feeling to come back and get the win. I\u2019m stoked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s win marks the 15th elite victory of Fanning\u2019s career, and the second of this season (after a win at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in April). The two-time ASP World Champion is now firmly in the frontrunner spot on the ASP WCT ratings heading into the back half of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeahupo\u2019o is one of the spots that I\u2019ve worked hard on throughout my career to improve at,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cI made a Final out here before, but to come away with the win is great for my confidence and I\u2019m in a good position heading into the next half of the year. Early days though and there are a lot of guys right up there. It\u2019s still anyone\u2019s game at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the event, Parkinson consistently established himself as one of the preeminent backhand tube-riders on the planet. Despite an early lead in the Final, Parkinson priority decision in the dying moments opened the door for Fanning to pounce.<\/p>\n
\u201cI held the lead in a 35-minute Final until the four minute mark,\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating to lose that way, but you cannot fault Mick (Fanning). He\u2019s been a true champion through the event and has proven that he\u2019s one to watch out at Teahupo\u2019o for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parkinson currently sits at No. 2 on the ASP WCT rankings at the halfway mark on the 2012 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the second Final of the year for me and another good result,\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m strong at all the remaining events on tour and I\u2019ll shake this one off and start focusing on Trestles.\u201d<\/p>\n
John John Florence (HAW), 19, competing in his first-ever Billabong Pro Tahiti, led the rookie charge at this year\u2019s installment, confidently cruising into the Semifinals where he matched up with Parkinson. Despite locking in an impressive 9.67 out of a possible 10 for an impressive backhand tube, Florence was unable to find a solid backup score and finished the event with an Equal 3rd.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m stoked to have made the Semifinals,\u201d Florence said. \u201cI would have loved to make the Finals and it\u2019s not the funnest way to lose without a lot of waves in the heat, but it\u2019s still a good result for me. Thanks to all the Tahitians for letting us come here and surf their wave for the week. It\u2019s a beautiful place and I always love coming here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florence moves from 5th to 3rd on the current ASP WCT rankings.<\/p>\n
Owen Wright (AUS), 22, last year\u2019s event runner-up, looked poised for another Final\u2019s berth today, posting an 18.96 to eliminate compatriot Julian Wilson (AUS), 23, and an 18.90 to oust former champ C.J. Hobgood (USA), 33, en route to his Semifinal match against Fanning. The young Australian continued his forehand dominance at Teahupo\u2019o, netting an 18.10 in the process, but was unable to overtake the current ASP WCT frontrunner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe waves were so perfect today that you can\u2019t really be to disappointed in a loss,\u201d Wright said. \u201cI felt like I was surfing well all day and I put up a couple of 9s in my heat against Mick (Fanning) so there\u2019s not too much to be upset about. Congrats to Mick on the win though. He\u2019s been super impressive all event with his backhand tube-riding and hopefully I get the opportunity to return the favor at the next stop at Trestles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright\u2019s Equal 3rd finish today moves the young goofy-footer from 9th to 7th on the current ASP WCT rankings.<\/p>\n
Ricardo dos Santos (AUS), two time Trials winner and wildcard into the Billabong Pro Tahiti, was awarded the Andy Irons Forever Award for his inspirational performance at Teahupo\u2019o this year. Despite bowing out in the Quarterfinals this morning to Fanning, Dos Santos was very emotional upon being awarded the prestigious honor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndy (Irons) was\u2026is my hero,\u201d Dos Santos said. \u201cThis Award means just as much, if not more than, winning the event for me. He is my inspiration and he is the reason I surf. He is the reason I surf Teahupo\u2019o. To be awarded this by the Irons\u2019 family is the biggest honor. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be available via http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com<\/p>\n
The Billabong Pro, Tahiti is made possible with the valued support of international partners Air Tahiti Nui, Sony, Xperia Sony Smartphone and Red Bull, along with our friends at Nixon, VonZipper, Mana and Hyundai.<\/p>\n
The next stop on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour will be the Hurley Pro at Trestles from September 16 \u2013 22, 2012.<\/p>\n
For more information, log onto www.ASPWorldTour.com<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
\n1 \u2013 Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.87
\n2 \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.37<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
\nQF 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.93 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 18.10
\nQF 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.14 def. John John Florence (HAW) 15.17<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
\nQF 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 19.07 def. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) 18.64
\nQF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 18.90 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.60
\nQF 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.50 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.43
\nQF 4: John John Florence (HAW) 16.17 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 4.17<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 5 RESULTS:
\nHeat 1: Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) 16.17 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.27
\nHeat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 18.96 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 10.70
\nHeat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.66 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 9.50
\nHeat 4: John John Florence (HAW) 16.66 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.64<\/p>\n
CURRENT ASP WCT TOP 5 (After Billabong Pro Tahiti)
\n1. Mick Fanning (AUS) 34,750 pts
\n2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 31,700 pts
\n3. John John Florence (HAW) 27,450 pts
\n4. Kelly Slater (USA) 25,450 pts
\n5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 24,950 pts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International Billabong Pro Tahiti Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour Teahupo’o, Taiarapu\/Tahiti August 16 – 27, 2012 Mick Fanning Claims Billabong Pro Tahiti, Cements ASP WCT Rankings’ Lead Caption: Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, two-time ASP World Champion and current frontrunner on the ASP WCT … Continue reading “Mick Fanning Claims Billabong Pro Tahiti”<\/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-13983","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\/13983","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=13983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}