Greg Emslie : photo Daniel Smorigo/ ASP South America

Rio Surf Pro International
Presented by Oakley

ASP Men’s WQS 6 Star event
ASP Women's WQS 4 Star event
ASP South America Surf Series 2008
Praia do Arpoador, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
06 - 12 october 2008

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc 

Oakley / Rio Surf Pro International decides first title on Saturday at Arpoador  >  Portuguese

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 11 October, 2008 : - - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  - The first WQS title of the history in Arpoador will be decided Saturday morning when female division of the Oakley presents Rio Surf Pro International will be over. A Brazilian girl is already in the final because Diana Cristina and Krisna de Souza will surf in the second semifinal while the first heat of this round will be a match of New Zealander Paige Hareb and Coco Ho from Hawaii. 

The 6 stars male title will be revealed only on Sunday. This Friday we saw the last round with four surfers in the water. Now we got the best 24 athletes to go on in a round with three surfers per heat before the man on man game in the Arpoador. Many surfers have the odds to get into the list of 15 going up to the ASP World Tour. It’s different for the girls with no new names in the list of 6 entering the female WQS.  

The South African Greg Emslie won two heats on Friday on the good two-to-three foot waves and passed the Australian Philip MacDonald rated in 16th. Greg is the former champion of the 1997 WQS in Rio de Janeiro, at Barra da Tijuca. 

“It’s my first time here in Arpoador and I like the waves, even smaller than yesterday. They are better shaped today and I wish they’ll improve tomorrow. I’m glad to be in Rio again, good memories so I want to make another good result in order to go up in the rating”, said Greg Emslie that beat WCT Brazilian Leo Neves in his first heat. 

With no chances to finish among the 27 who stays in the Dream Tour, Leo Neves is counting on the WQS to maintain his name on the 42 best surfers list. He made his way through the round of 24 living his 43th rated position behind. 

“The conditions changed a lot, the waves are rare so you need a little luck to advance”, said Leo after dismissing Hawaiian Dustin Barca, Brazilian Matheus Toledo and the North American Tanner Gudauskas. “I like this place where I surfed all my life and improved my backside attack here. I came to win”, guarantees Leo Neves.  

In one of the best heats of Oakley / Rio Surf Pro International Brazilian Marcio Farney had a high score (9,40) but was defeated by Willian Cardoso’s last wave in the heat, won fair and square, by Germany surfer, Marlon Lipke. William, who had won the Spain WQS, was stoked.

“It was a tough one where everybody got good waves close to that rock on the corner. I was needing 8,30 so I put all my cards there. The wave came in with a good score potential and I did it. My goal is to be in the Dream Tour. I have only few chances but I’ll fight to the end”, promises William. 

Marlon Lipke is rated 9th and close to be the first German to be in the group of the best surfers in the world competing in the Dream Tour. “I like Rio very much, I was here four years ago when I did some sightseeing. I’m kind of nervous for being so close to get into the ASP World Tour. There are already French, Portuguese, so it would be nice to have another European country on the list” said Lipke. 

As well as Lipke, four brazilians are rated in the group of 15 going to the ASP World Tour. Pedro Henrique (10th), Hizunome Bettero (11th), Jihad Kohdr (12th) and Pablo Paulino the only one who failed this Friday. Pedro Henrique depends on the next heat to replace his worst result and go up in the rating.   

“I’m really concentrated on getting my place back in the Dream Tour this year but we never know. I need a good result to be cool but there is no other way, you have to surf heat by heat”, believes Pedro Henrique. Hizunome Bettero knows he is at the end of the line (of 15) so he didn’t want to lose any chance. “The waves sized down, it’s difficult to compete, hard to set a strategy. I want to reach a better position in the rating”, wishes Hizunome. 

LOCAL HERO - Simao Romao the only local from Arpoador, was stoked by his victory to enter the 24 best surfers round. “I am already a bit more relaxed and want to carry on this way. I hope all my friends will be here to support me”, said Simao. 

Bernardo Pigmeu and Simao dismissed Marcos Pastro and the North American Patrick Gudauskas, the best rated in the WQS. “I think Rio is one of the big surf stages and I am thrilled to be here again. I am happy to have made It through one more step with Simao who is on fire”, said Bernardo. 

Once again, Adriano de Souza stood out, making it through the second round this morning and at the end of the day, he had to come out of the water before finish because of twisted ankle but he had already secured the heat with a 8,5 points ride. “It was just a scare, nothing serious but I didn’t want to risk it. The are a lot of important things to come”, said the fifth best surfer of the world in the Dream Tour. 

The Oakley presents Rio Surf Pro International is sponsored by Oakley, Ministério do Turismo, of Secretaria de Esportes, Turismo e Lazer do Estado do Rio de Janeiro and Metro Rio, organized by Adding Produções e Eventos. The event is homologated by the Association of Surfing Professionals - ASP South America.   

About ASP
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster’s ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships.

The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America. 

OAKLEY / RIO SURF PRO INTERNATIONAL – ROUND 24:

Heat 1: Brett Simpson (USA), Simão Romão (BRA-RJ), Thiago de Souza (BRA-CE)
Heat 2: Pedro Henrique (BRA-RJ), Bernardo Pigmeu (BRA-PE), Alejo Muniz (BRA-SC)
Heat 3: Yuri Sodré (BRA-RJ), William Cardoso (BRA-SC), Adilton Mariano (BRA-CE)
Heat 4: Marlon Lipke (DEU), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA-SP), Marcelo Bispo (BRA-RJ)
Heat 5: Leonardo Neves (BRA-RJ), Greg Emslie (ZAF), Ricardo Ferreira (BRA-SP)
Heat 6: Hizunomê Bettero (BRA-SP), Shaun Cansdell (AUS), Dustin Barca (HAW)
Heat 7: Adriano de Souza (BRA-SP), Gabe Kling (USA), Jadson André (BRA-RN)
Heat 8: Jihad Kohdr (BRA-PR), Michel Bourez (PYF), Raoni Monteiro (BRA-RJ)

Check the Live Coverage

www.oakley.com
http://waves.terra.com.br
www.aspsouthamerica.com.br

Previous reports:
# 1 : Women open the Rio Surf Pro International at Arpoado 
# 2 : Rio Surf Pro women's semi-finalists decided Tuesday
# 3 : Rio Surf Pro Int'l Mens WQS commences at Arpoador..
# 4 : Adriano de Souza gets into Rio Surf Pro International.. 

About ASP
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster’s ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

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João Carvalho / ASP South America
joaocarvalho@matrix.com.br

Photos – Daniel Smorigo
Translator – Edinho Leite

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