Gabriel Medina defeats the previously unstoppable Matt Wilkinson in the electric final heat. Photo: WSL/Kelly Cestari
After a stale start to 2016, Mother Nature finally delivered the goods and Cloudbreak was absolutely pumping.
Among the handful of amazing performances that went down on the final day, it was Brazil’s Gabriel Medina who snagged top honors in the electric final heat against current world number one and Rip Curl teammate Matt Wilkinson.
Conditions on the final day were everything competitors and spectators could ask for at Cloudbreak. Favorable tides, a light offshore wind, and a clean eight- to 12-foot swell offered up a relentless supply of big, perfect barrels. But make no mistake; it was heavy. Among the slew of beautiful barrels, there was plenty of carnage and plenty of broken boards.
Medina, who is no slouch in huge barreling lefts, scored one of the only perfect 10s of the contest and defeated arguably the best and most knowledgeable surfers at Cloudbreak, Kelly Slater. In the exhilarating final heat, Medina stuck to his usual repertoire of immaculate tube riding, ferocious wrapping turns, and massive alley-oops, scoring a 8.27 and a 7.33 that would get the better of Wilko’s 4.17 and 2.17.
Runner-up Matt Wilkinson was in a beautiful rhythm throughout the entire event, but couldn’t quite put it together in the finals. His great result at Fiji keeps the yellow jersey on his back heading into J-Bay.
Today’s victory marks Medina’s first win in 2016. He now sits in a comfortable second place on the Jeep Leaderboard heading into J-Bay. Congratulations to Gabriel Medina, your 2016 Fiji Pro Champion!
