The World Surf League hasn’t had a whole lot of luck in terms of swell within event windows this year. It seems that every contest sits directly in a serious dip between solid days, but thankfully, the world’s best surfers can do a lot with a little. And the highlights from day two of the Shiseido Tahiti Pro Presented By Outerknown was proof of that, if you needed any.
Conditions definitely weren’t all-time Teahupoo, but that’s surfing for you. The vagaries of Mother Nature are part of surfing, after all, and those all-time days would just be average days if they happened every day. The pressure was on, though, and the performances showed it. To the surprise of exactly no one, John John Florence put on a clinic, nabbing the highest wave score of the day. In his heat against Rio Waida, he put down an 8.10 and followed it up with a near-perfect 9.57. He’s facing off against Gabriel Medina in the quarter finals, which, if history has anything to say about it, should be a match up worth watching.
There’s a lot on the line at Teahupoo. The Final 5 are staring down the barrel of the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lower Trestles in September, so Tahiti is the last chance to lay it all on the line for a spot in that lineup. Keep an eye on things over at Worldsurfleague.com.
