The 20-year-old kid from Brazilian beach breaks asserts his dominance over reef. Photo: ASP| Kirstin
Did that just happen? Did a 20-year-old punt-freak from a Brazilian beach break just win the greatest surf contest that ever was, in some of the heaviest waves that ever were, and pick apart none other than the greatest of all time, Kelly Slater in the process, despite the champ putting on probably the best showing of his career just one heat prior? But, whaaaaaa? Fucking how?
With three wins to his name and a gap of nearly 8,000 points — 8,000 points is equivalent to a second place finish) — between he and the next best placed on the ratings (Kelly Slater), Medina is tantalizingly close to putting a stranglehold on the 2014 title. A task made all the more possible by upset losses to Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson. And that’s before you take into account what lays ahead. A quick scan of the events to come suggests a Medina world title is almost a foregone conclusion. Trestles, France and Portugal all undoubtedly favor his cat-like reflexes and explosive combo game.
Think he didn’t have it in him? Think again. Photo: ASP|Kirstin
But it’s the fact he’s managed to win both events in the Pacific leg (Fiji and Tahiti) as well as topple Parko at his home break, Snapper, that gives you a real idea of what kind of a roll this kid’s on. When Kelly said of Medina, “He’ll be setting the bar for the next 10 or 20 years,” following his debut win in France as a 17-year-old, he was presumably talking about his beach break game since the kid was totally untested in waves of consequence at that point. Sh-yeah, well, it’s nothin’ but beach breaks and rippable walls from hereon in, until the tour reaches its crescendo at Pipe in December, by which point Medina might have an unassailable lead. By the looks of what he did yesterday, who’s to say he won’t take Pipe out anyway? Medina proved a master of all conditions yesterday, putting on a performance that suggests he will be the next great waxhead to join the illustrious pool of talent that includes likes Slater, Andy Irons, and Tom Curren. Watching him accept the trophy yesterday, I was struck by the sheer strangeness of a 20-year-old Brazilian kid being the face of world surfing right now. But it’s a sight we better get used to.
The sheer genius of his performance was gobsmacking, yet it’s a thread that is fast becoming his signature.
His mastery of the priority game was once again unmatched, showing quick thinking to kick out just in front of Nathan Hedge and put a stop to his inspiring run in round three. He got the better of a tight and at times cynical tussle with Kolohe Andino in the quarters, baffled Bede in the semis, and took advantage of an uncharacteristic error in the opening stages of the final by Kelly.
When combined with his surfing, it amounted to a display of tactical mastery you just don’t get from many 20-year-olds in world sport.
A long day of competitive genius and surf brilliance left Medina heavy with emotions after the final bell rung. Photo: ASP|Kirstin
Medina effectively surfed one of the heaviest days in ASP history in a dinner suit, not falling on a single wave until the last 10 minutes of the event. He knew exactly the kind of wave he wanted — west-bowl runners tapering perfectly along the Chopes reef which often offered a bonus end bowl — and positioned himself centimetre perfect to get them. Whether he was using the famous mountain backdrop or the contest scaffolding as a marker to line up with isn’t clear, but his execution was flawless. Well, almost.
You don’t have to give Kelly much for him to make you pay, and when when he paddled out in the final following his history-making shootout with John John Florence in the semis, he would have been feeling very confident. Unlike Medina, Kelly had rolled the dice with the Chopes dynamite that final day, and come out smiling each time. “He’s been getting the deeper smaller runners all event, whereas I’ve been trying to go the ones which aren’t quite a tow wave,” Kelly said moments prior to the final in what can be read as both a statement of fact as well as a little bit of needling of the grom.
All Kelly needed was two bombs and the event was his. When Kelly has his destiny in his hands, he almost never fails, but whether due to an adrenaline hangover from his semi with JJF, or just a split second of poor judgement, the 42-year-old Floridian made a glaring error on the opening set wave of the heat, gifting Medina priority and the kid made him pay big time.
He was unbelievably in sync with the Chopes lineup for two-thirds of the final, skipping out of tube after tube, and even a couple of bombs, on his way to a commanding lead. He even got chewed up on one but with less than a minute remaining he still held priority leaving Kelly answer-less and needing a near perfect 9.33 for the win. Then something remarkable happened. Chopes threw one last stick o’ dynamite there way and for reasons only Medina knows, he let Kelly run with it. It was a tactical error that even had the champ “baffled.”
“I couldn’t believe he let me go,” Slater told Pete Mel live on the webcast as the world waited for the score to be read out. He’d surfed it flawlessly negotiating the long thick runner with his trademark high line and a couple of little speed adjustments for good measure. It wasn’t enough, however, .03 short. Medina was champ and Brazil moves one giant leap closer to a maiden world title.
Don’t forget to read Perfection: 5 Takeaways from the 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti.
