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Despite his affinity for the icon, Colapinto took down Taj Burrow in the elimination round. Photo: Matt Dunbar/World Surf League
It seems wild Western Australia continues to dazzle and throw competitors surprises and for some reprieve with challenging conditions at Strickland Bay divvying the competitive field up. The wave has proven super-fast, forcing the world’s best to position themselves with critical judgment before generating enough speed and ensuring their maneuvers throw the most water enough to garner the highest points.
Or, as charismatic WSL commentator Ronnie Blakey so eloquently put it after one such turn, “it’s still raining at the Rotto pub with all that spray!
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Just a few minutes into the first elimination round heat on Day Two of the Rip Curl Rottnest Search at Strickland Bay, a shark was spotted in the water nearby, pausing the heat (1:36:30 in the video above). Griffin Colapinto, Jack Freestone, and Taj Burrow were competing for a spot in the round of 32 after losing in their respective seeding rounds, when the horn sounded and jet skis came whizzing in to collect the surfers.
As World Surf League Head of Competition Jessi Miley-Dyer explained, “We have a 200-meter radius that is an instant pull out for us… What we’re going to do now is have the plane and the drone sweep the area for us and when we’re absolutely sure [the shark] isn’t there we’ll restart.”
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Strong performances from Tatiana Weston-Webb and Filipe Toledo resulted in a Brazilian sweep at Margaret River. Photo: WSL/Cait Miers
Conditions were beautiful but tricky for an interesting final round at the Margaret River Pro this weekend following four days on hold as officials waited for the wind and waves to align.
Both the men and the women’s side saw some of the biggest names notably absent on finals day. After a dominating start to the event, John John Florence withdrew before his quarterfinals start citing a knee injury that he wants to take care of as we head into the Olympic debut of surfing where he hopes to represent Team USA, and Caroline Marks was knocked out in the Round of 16 by Bronte Macaulay (both massive losses for my WSL Fantasy team).
Mikey Wright, the brother of World Surfing Champion Tyler Wright, has saved a life in dramatic scenes on Hawaii. The wild surf was peppering the shore and a woman was unable to stand up as a heavy set created foamy conditions. In a pair of videos posted to Tyler Wright s Instagram with the caption Closing out 2020 with some hero s by @mikeywright69 and on Mikey s own page as Hold my beer , the 24-year-old ran into the wild conditions in incredible scenes. Just over a week from Tyler s win at the Roxy Pro, the two-time world champion was with her brother and friends at Ke Iki Beach in Hawaii on New Year s Eve afternoon.
Mikey Wright, the brother of World Surfing Champion Tyler Wright, has saved a life in dramatic scenes on Hawaii. The wild surf was peppering the shore and a woman was unable to stand up as a heavy set created foamy conditions. In a pair of videos posted to Tyler Wright s Instagram with the caption Closing out 2020 with some hero s by @mikeywright69 and on Mikey s own page as Hold my beer , the 24-year-old ran into the wild conditions in incredible scenes. Just over a week from Tyler s win at the Roxy Pro, the two-time world champion was with her brother and friends at Ke Iki Beach in Hawaii on New Year s Eve afternoon.