Hawaiian Domination: Michel and Carissa Sweep First Stop Of Triple Crown
"This is beyond everything I have ever dreamed of," smiled a very happy Michel Bourez, shortly after winning the final of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, the first stop in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. With the win Michel shoots from 17th to 2nd on the WQS ratings, and will now be graduating to the ASP World Tour. "To qualify for the elite tour was the major goal I have worked and trained so hard for, but to also win my first event, in Hawaii, in perfect waves, well I can't really believe it."
"This morning the surf was small and a bit inconsistent, but I still felt strong and relaxed, and then as the surf improved all day I just started loving it more and more," explained Michel. He capped the win off what may go down in competitive history as the longest tube ever riden at Haleiwa, which garnered a 9.97 out of 10 from the judges. "That wave was just perfect," Bourez said exiting the water. "I was actually just screaming when I was in the tube, and then screaming as I paddled back out," he laughed. "To be getting these epic waves in Hawaii, when it all mattered so much, was beyond anything I've ever done. This is by far the best day I've had in surfing."
On the ladies side of the draw Carissa Moore schooled the rest of the world, as mentioned on an earlier post, making her the youngest person to ever win a Triple Crown contest. "It was my dream to one day win out here and I'm really happy," she would say after the win. "I was just praying that Layne [Beachly] wouldn't get one. I was really thankful that Coco [Ho] ended up getting that one. I'm definitely thankful that she is one of my best friends. It was an honor to be in that heat with all those girls. It was so close [of a heat] with Layne. And then my really good friends Laura and Coco were surfing really well the entire event."Congratulations to both Michel and Carissa on jobs well done!
just awesome!
cook ibe