Julian Wilson has won his maiden tour victory in scrappy conditions in the Rip Curl Pro Portugal at Supertubos, Peniche. In a tightly contested final, decided only once the surfers returned to the beach, Wilson pipped fellow arial specialist Gabriel Medina much to Medina’s dismay.
After leading the final up until Wilson’s last wave, Medina cut a distraught figure shedding tears of frustration as the final wave scores were announced. Passion is one thing but Medina’s brattish sookiness was on full display as he slunk off from the presentation arena. Not that Wilson noticed. “I’m overwhelmed,” Wilson said. “I don’t even know how to describe the feeling. He was too busy worrying about me, and that wave came in the dying moments and that was the scorer. I don’t know what to say, I’m just so happy.”
“I felt like I got the score. Especially after my other wave that I got a 7 on, but at the same time the crowd was pretty quiet. I didn’t feel that confident walking up the beach. Wilko had my back but he wasn’t 100% sure. Then they just read the score out and I was so happy. This is what dreams are made of“.
Fellow Australian and tour leader Joel Parkinson finished equal third with the tour likely to be decided in the final event at Pipeline next month.
Rip Curl Pro Portugal 2012 Final Result:
Julian Wilson (AUS), 16.26 points def. Gabriel Medina (BRA), 15.37 points
ASP World Championship Tour Rankings after Rip Curl Pro Portugal:
1. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 52,700 pts
2. Kelly Slater (USA) 47,200 pts
3. Mick Fanning (AUS) 47,000 pts
4. John John Florence (HAW) 44,350 pts
5. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 37,650 pts
via SurferToday.com
