Australian Jack Freestone took out the
Oakley ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Junior
Championships defeating Hawaiian Ezekiel Lau in the final round at
Keramas Beach on Tuesday. With the swell dropping and unfavorable winds,
the surfers were forced to unleash their aerial attacks in the 1.5
meter punchy surf. Freestone who also won the ASP World Junior title in
2010 joins current ASP World Championship Tour number one, Joel
Parkinson, also from Australia, and Pablo Paulino from Brazil in an
elite club of three surfers to have claimed multiple men’s ASP World
Junior titles. “It’s amazing to follow in Joel’s footsteps,” Freestone
said.
“He’s my favorite surfer and we’re both
from Coolangatta, so it feels amazing right now. He’s on the Men’s ASP
World Championship Tour, that’s where I want to be, so hopefully this
gives me the confidence to know that I can get there.” Freestone is
truly a deserving winner after battling through a stellar field of the
world’s best junior surfers and an array of conditions ranging from
shifty beachbreaks at Canggu, big Keramas tubes and windy, rampy Keramas
on the final day. Lau, the powerful Hawaiian surfer impressed all who
watched throughout the event, but fell short in the last heat. The final
was a chess match, going back and forth with the lead changing and the
two surfers with similar powerful and progressive styles battling for
the ASP World Junior title.
“I came here to win not to come second,”
Lau said. “But Jack [Freestone] was in rhythm and caught the best waves
in the final, so congratulations to him. You just have to move on, I’ve
got the Triple Crown coming up soon in Hawaii, so I’ll be back.”
Freestone went on a frenzy in that heat, posting multiple scores in the
excellent range, with Oakley ASP World Junior Championships head judge
Glen Elliot describing the heat as: “one of the best displays of
technical aerial surfing in one heat in ASP history. Freestone landed
two stalefish grabs, a slob grab and full rotation kerrupt grab
air-reverse. People will be talking about that heat for a long time.”
In the women’s division final round on
Friday, Australian Nikki Van Dijk took the ASP Women’s World Junior
title after defeating Bianca Buitendag from South Africa in an epic
final. The surf was in the 2 meter range, with flawless tubes and walls
reeling down the reef at Keramas, setting the perfect stage for the
battle for an ASP World Junior title. This year’s championships went
down as an historic event as it was the first event in Indonesia to
crown an ASP world champion and also because it featured some of the
best waves ever for a women’s final. Van Dijk and Buitendag were well
deserving finalists, between the two of them they scored six of the top
10 highest wave scores of the event.
Van Dijk held the lead for the whole
final, using her smooth style to glide down the line and unleash some
crisp and powerful carves. She surfed strong, smart and beautifully and
will go down as the first surfer from Victoria, Australia, to win an ASP
World Junior title. “I’m feeling the best I’ve ever felt! I was nervous
the whole heat! I was shaky when I was trying to stand up, I think I
was just so excited to be out there in such perfect waves. I’m so
honored to win! This is what I dream of, it’s amazing!” she said.
source : bali daily
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