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JORDY SMITH WINS O'NEILL COLDWATER CLASSIC TASMANIA
South African powerhouse takes down Damien Hobgood in freezing, pumping surf
Photos: All photos: Surfing Australia/Robbo
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March 29, 2009
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CONDITIONS:
After a week of chasing the best surf to four different spots around the rugged coast of Tasmania, the final day of the Coldwater Classic saw offshore winds and slabby six- to eight-foot surf at Bluff Reef in Marrawah.
Well, the whole week was a damn fine experience for competitors and contest organizers. Staying mobile to take advantage of Tassie's many nooks and crannies meant the whole event saw great surf - a rarity on the WQS slog. Two-man heats were nice, too. And the fact that two of the top ten ASP World Tour surfers made the final, well, that kind of validated the whole thing. |
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Rob Bain, O'Neill's marketing manager summed it up saying, "It's been more successful than I could have hoped. We wanted raw and challenging, remote and adventurous, and a good spirit and adventure around the event. We ticked all those boxes." Oh, and the surfing was insane as well - good chance these waves have never seen this level of performance. OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS: Perhaps channeling his WQS-winning season in 2007, Jordy Smith was on fire the whole event. He scored the highest heat total on the final day in his quarterfinal against Owen Wright, and blazed past Damo in the final. "It was good to get a win," Smith said at the prize-giving. "It's been a while. Damo's been ripping this whole event. I looked up to him as a kid so it's great to be out there with one of my heroes." Other than Damo and Jordy, Pat Gudauskas was in great form, nailing a serious tube at the end of his heat against Damo to almost take it. Jadson Andre was another standout. Also: the locals' hospitality was legendary. Among them were Christel and Max Whish-Wilson who let the final contest day move into their house and front lawn -- looking out over Bluff Reef. "It's been an awesome experience," said Christel. "We've had the best guys staying with us while we cook and take care of them. They're so well mannered." (Wow. Well-mannered surfers?) QUOTES: "Thanks to O'Neill for thinking outside the box. And thank you to all the people in Marrawah who have been so welcoming and so open. I was hoping to dedicate that trophy to the Marrawah pub. I had needed to step it up. I just didn't do it. It was hard for me. Sometimes I was really hanging on with my toes so hard. It's a little bit more bumpy out there than it looks for sure." -Damien Hobgood RESULTS 1st USD20000 2500 WQS points 2nd USD10000 2188 WQS Points 1st Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.56 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.17 Semi-Finals = 3rd USD 5000 1875 WQS Points. SF1 Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.10 def Jadson Andre (BRZ) 15.27 SF2 Damien Hobgood (USA) 16.07 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.90 Quarter Finals = 5th. USD 2950 1625 WQS Points QF1 -Jadson Andre (Brz) 14:00 def Dion Atkinson (Aus) 13.33 QF2 -Jordy Smith (Sth Afr) 18:00 def. Owen Wright (Aus).12.83 QF3 - Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.50 def. Masatoshi Ohno (Jpn) 7.56 QF4 - Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.90 def T J Barron (Haw) 9.00 MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |