DexterBillabong Pro Tahiti 2008 – Welcome to Teahupoo
May 3rd 2008 00:34
Jamie O Brien wins 2008 Trials
jamie O'Brien takes the Billabong pro Trials (Image courtesy of billabongpro.com)
The trials for the Billabong Pro Tahiti contest were decided this week challenging the angriest wave in the world. Early on showing why the Teahupoo break deserves respect.
The awesome display of nature’s power can be refined if you glance deep inside the potentially fatal barrel. Paddling out for Day 1 of the /Air Tahiti Nui/Von Zipper event the seas announced there intentions. The competition had to be temporarily postponed due to the mammoth waves (15 feet) that were crashing upon the shore.
Coming from behind in the last 40 seconds to place first at the end of the 8 Round event was the Hawaiian Jamie ‘O Brien. Besting Bruno Santos to take the top spot, O’Brien said in an interview with Billabongpro.com,“I’ve never came from behind the eight ball like that in the last minute,” said O’Brien. “I figured it’s the kind of stuff Kelly (Slater) does, so I thought I would give it a try.”
Growing up with mythic Pipeline as his first temptress into big wave surfing. Now aged 23 Jamie won the prestigious WCT Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters in 2004. This early victory announces his arrival and now 3 years later cementing his presence with this latest effort.
“I knew the swell was going to be bombing when I came down here and the wind looked insane, so the whole event was super special,” he said. “One of the things I have always wanted to win was a Teahupoo Trials and I put that on my list a few years ago."
Raising his profile, now he’s more of a threat than ever with the main event Finals running from May 8 - 18.
From the official Billabongpro.com site, here are the overall Stats results for this leg:
10 best wave scores
Num. Score Competitor Heat Round Day
1 10.00 Jamie OBrien 1 Final: 28/Apr/2008
2 10.00 Bruno Santos 2 Semi Final: 28/Apr/2008
3 10.00 Jamie OBrien 1 Quarter Final: 28/Apr/2008
4 10.00 Tamaroa McComb 3 Round 5: 28/Apr/2008
5 10.00 Bruno Santos 5 Round 4 27/Apr/2008
6 10.00 Tuhiti Haumani 8 Round 3 27/Apr/2008
7 10.00 Gabriel Villaran 5 Round 1 26/Apr/2008
8 9.93 Jamie OBrien 1 Quarter Final 28/Apr/2008
9 9.90 Jamie OBrien 2 Round 5 28/Apr/2008
10 9.87 Dylan Longbottom 3 Round 4 27/Apr/2008
10 best Average heat points
num total best competitor heat# round %
1 19.93 2 Jamie OBrien 1 Quarter Final 99.65%
2 19.23 2 Jamie OBrien 2 Round 5 96.15%
3 18.87 2 Bruno Santos 2 Semi Final 94.35%
4 18.50 2 Jamie OBrien 1 Final 92.50%
5 18.47 2 Bruno Santos 3 Quarter Final 92.35%
6 18.33 2 Jamie OBrien 2 Round 3 91.65%
7 18.33 2 Danny Fuller 1 Round 5 91.65%
8 18.20 2 Anthony Walsh 8 Round 4 91.00%
9 18.17 2 Danny Fuller 1 Round 4 90.85%
10 17.76 2 Damien Wills 2 Semi Final 88.80%
Wave statistics
Total of 369 waves surfed in 47 heats ...
Excellent: 63 waves
Good: 88 waves
Regular: 72 waves
Poor: 146 waves
Statistics of tabulated waves,
Total of: 246 waves that were used for tabulation ...
Excellent: 62 waves counted
Good: 73 waves counted
Regular: 45 waves counted
Poor: 66 waves counted
Video 1- The Billabong Tahiti trails
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Video 2 – The Finalists
Video 3 – Some more of the action
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Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Comment by Dexter
Seek Extreme
You will find some pretty intense pictures in earlier posts on this site too.....