But
Curren's best performance was to come in the last minutes
of the final, when he took off backhand on one of the largest
set waves, which at first glance appeared to be a close
out. He pulled in right away at breakneck speed, and was
immediately lost from sight as the wave shut down. Finalist
Cam Anderson, who briefly rode the right towards him, reported
seeing Curren taking a high line and pumping hard in what
was the only tube ridden in the entire event.
After
a few seconds, Curren's shadow could be seen by the stunned
crowd, traveling at full speed behind the curtain. At the
latest possible moment before the right met the left and
the lip shut down, Curren shifted weight to his outside
rail, straightened out of the tube to a roar of disbelief
from everyone, looked at the crowd and briefly claimed the
wave. Saavedra said he had never seen a tube like that at
his home break, ever.
On
exiting the surf, the throng of photographers and admirers
swarmed Curren and his Panamanian wife Makeira, who went
waist deep into the shore break to meet Tom after his epic
victory. As they hurried arm in arm across the burning black
volcanic sand, the crowd cheered and clapped, respectfully
keeping their distance, allowing husband and wife an unimpeded
run to the podium. "That was pretty nice, huh?"
said Curren of his barrel, in typical understatement.
In
the women's event, despite the impressive backhand surfing
of Julia Christian and an unexpected charge from French
entrant Claire Karabatsos, World Championship Tour seed
Keala Kennelly of Hawai'i dominated all her heats, and emerged
a clear winner in the women's event.
