KEIKI

 The Encanto Pro Puerto Rico is over.

Dave Hubbard from Hawaii showed his versatility on a bodyboard when he won the dropknee final against new world champion Damian King and came second to Frenchman Pierre-Louis Costes in the men’s final at the Encanto Pro Puerto Rico today.Had he won he would have become the first person to win two divisions in the same event.

With less than 30 seconds left in the final the Frenchman still needed a good scoring wave to win, in the hollow four to six foot conditions. A wave came his way and he gave it his all, landing two back flips in a row and getting the score. His friends carried him on their shoulders to the presentation area where he celebrated his first Grand Slam Series win in front of the cheering crowd. “It feels amazing, it’s my first grand slam victory. I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. If you don’t win you’re never happy and I finally got that feeling” said Pierre-Louis Costes.

Before she surfed in the final, Lilly Pollard from Gerringong in New South Wales Australia told current Women’s World Tour leader Eunate Aguirre, she would win the event for her. A win would stop her nearest rival, other finalist and reigning world champion Brazilian Isabela Sousa, closing the gap between them in their title race. The Brazilian could not find the form she had in her semi-final performance, where she scored a perfect ten, was left in a combination situation at the end of the final.

Pollard’s experience of riding the heavy reefs around her hometown helped her to victory as she rode two barrels, rolling out of the one, flawlessly. “After seeing Isabela’s heat yesterday I knew it was going to be a challenge”, said Pollard after the final.

Both Men’s and Women’s World Tour titles will be decided at the final event of each respective tour; the Men’s in the Canary Islands and the Women’s in the Azores. Pierre-Louis Costes has leapfrogged up the rankings to second and 300 points behind tour leader Jeff Hubbard while Pollard’s win has pushed her into third position on the WWT and Aguirre has maintained a 379 points lead on Sousa.

After consulting with the head judge and riders, the event organisers have decided to put the contest on hold until tomorrow.
Next call will be tomorrow.

Check out the Day 5 highlights:

Damian King, from Port Macquirie in New South Wales, Australia made history on day five of the Encanto Pro Puerto Rico today, when he became the first person to be a dropknee and prone world champion. King was carried on the shoulders of his Australian friends to the competitors area. 
Ardiel Jimenez from the Canary Islands, the man Damian King had to beat to become world champion, walked over and congratulated him on his win. Damian’s father in-law, Jimmy, handed him a beer before King walked on stage to receive his trophy. Visibly emotional, Damian King thanked his father in-law for all his support and the crowd for being so great .

Puerto Rican, Natasha Sagardia, caused two major upsets in today’s Women’s World Tour round four and quarterfinal heats. Natasha beat world numbers one and two, Eunate Aguirre from the Basque Country and Brazilian Neymara Carvalho, while her mother cheered for her from the beach. Sagardia’s win over Aguirre means the WWT title race will be decided in the Azores Islands, the final stop on the WWT.
Australian Women’s Tour champion Lily Pollard will face Natasha Sagardia in the semi-finals. The other semi is between Brazilians, Karla Costa-Taylor and Isabela Sousa. Former dropknee world champions, Cesar Bauer from Peru and Dave Hubbard from Hawaii are through to the DKWT semi-finals along with Reunion Islander, Amaury Lavernhe.

Round one of the Men’s World Tour Grand Slam Series for the Encanto Pro Puerto Rico was completed in perfect barreling six-foot conditions today. World title contenders: Ryan Hardy, Jeff Hubbard, Dave Winchester, Amaury Lavernhe and Jared Houston all won their heats, giving them maximum points on the leaderboard rounds.
Highlight of the day was trialist from Australia, Mitch Rawlins, getting a ten point ride for boosting a full rotation air reverse. The Puerto Rican bodyboarders did not let their supporters down, launching big airs and riding deep barrels in their heats against the top 24.

The first round of the trials was surfed today in some clean 3-5 feet waves at Middles in Isabella, Puerto Rico.

Local rider PJ Tartak was the day’s best scorer when he netted a 8.17 average for a clean ARS on an inside bowl.

Go to www.ibaworldtour.com for all the results.

http://www.ibaworldtour.com

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