Gabriel Medina has sealed his second world surfing crown by making the Pipe Masters final to deny Australian Julian Wilson’s pursuit of a maiden series title.
Medina beat South African Jordy Smith 16.27 to 15.83 in their tense semi-final heat to end the championship hopes of Wilson, who is in the surf against Kelly Slater in their final four showdown.
Leading the series, Medina only needed to make the final of the season-ending event at Pipeline to secure the 2018 crown and become the first Brazilian to win multiple world titles.
Medina was in ominous form in the quarter-finals and backed up a ride of 9.43 with a perfect 10 barrel to beat American Connor Coffin and book a showdown with Smith.
“In the beginning it was kind of hard cause I had to pump a little bit and then when I was in the tube my board as shaking a little bit because the foam ball wanted to get me, but I escaped,” the Brazilian said of his perfect wave ride.
Earlier in the day, Wilson progressed from round four at the expense of 2012 world champion Joel Parkinson, ending the 17-year surfing professional career of the Australian veteran.
The 30-year-old Wilson was second behind Dora in the three-man heat with Parkinson’s elimination also ending his Triple Crown of Surfing hopes.
“It’s been an honour and, you know, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, it’s awesome,” Parkinson said afterwards.
“Wow, it’s over, I’m so glad it’s over.
The 37-year-old said surfing had given him an amazing lifestyle and so many ups and downs.
“But I guess competitive surfing is different to just surfing and once you can differentiate those things … I’ll always enjoy surfing,” Parkinson said.
“The tour has so many hills and valleys, emotional rollercoasters, and like any professional sport it’s just the way it rolls and it’s nice to get to the end of it and finally just run on an even keel for a while and enjoy my time at home and enjoy my family, and come back to Hawaii and just come for a surf.”
– AAP