Proves the felling of Gabriel Medina no fluke!
Ain’t it amazing the difference a few days makes.
After felling Gabriel Medina in a last-second win in the round of 32, a victory that brought Brazil to its knees sobbing, San Clemente tour rookie Cole Houshmand has won the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in a tense battle with neighbour and pal Griffin Colapinto.
Earlier, in his post-heat interview three-time world champ Gabriel Medina had claimed the fix was in, that his opponent Cole Houshmand was gifted his win as part of an ongoing conspiracy against the Brazilians.
“It’s bad for the sport, I’ve been through a lot of judging things but I feel like this is the worst one.… we pretend it’s not happening. It’s happening. It’s bad for the sport,” said Medina.
The Australian world champ Barton Lynch seemed to confirm the bias telling a Brazilian interviewer,
In his victory speech Cole Houshmand said,
“I’ve been visualising this every day for the last two weeks and ringing that Bell…my biggest goal was to make it to Fiji on year one, I’m glad I’m going there. The cut’s out of the vision but there’s bigger things for me to achieve now.”
As to surfing a final with his pal Griff,
“I told him, this is what we dreamed of since we were kids. I just wanted to enjoy it and at the same time there’s no one I want to beat more or rather lose to, so it was a weird mind set.”
A full day’s analysis from BeachGrit’s Scotland-based correspondent JP Currie a little later tonight.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
Medina was robbed like 75 year old honkie in Harlem at 2 am in the morning while walking and waving fat stacks
With gabbi sitting at number 20, he really needs a result at margs otherwise he’s goneskis… that’s when we’ll see a nation drown in their own tears.
God I hope it happens!
lot of Journaling, Visualizationing and meditating with beanies over eyes going on in SC these days.
SoCal is such fertile ground for cults.
Starting to feel like an ‘aloha also means goodbye’ is coming from JP any day now.
Slán Abhaile or something quite similar I imagine
beach grit + hate crime and public order (Scotland) act 2021 = match made in heaven
A dark stain is on this event. An illegitimate winner. The obvious scripting going on has cost pro surfing what little credibility it had left. No HamSammish!!!!
I dont think its scripting. All the Rip Curl surfers got reamed. I mean with respect, Cole is pretty much a nobody. He’s not busting on the scene like the next Dane Reynolds that kids want to emulate. But good luck to the guy.
Judges have just changed their scoring criteria again. Its lame.
I don’t really know what the men’s criteria is. I think the judges have decided that speedy skatey type surfing with flicky turns and cute airs is out and big foot turns by men with big thighs is in. Or maybe it’s just the historic reality that goofies going backside are always overscored.
and Rio Waida surfed the best competitive wave of his life and couldn’t crack an 8. Poor guy.
Looked very light footed compared to his opponent in the semi. Compared to all the other guys.
He’s a great surfer but if he intends to make it at this level he needs to slowly and surely get stronger. Slowly, so that he doesn’t fuck up his style and ability.
totally agree – just kind of feel for the guy when he realizes his competitive ceiling in waves requiring turns is 7.6.
Yea meanwhile Cole’s first wave vs Ewing scored a 9 across all the judges and the wave was a 6.2 @ BEST WITH A FREAKIN FALL at the end. WTF, OVER?!?!
Everyone keeps talking about Medina but I’ll never forget that 7.07 that they turned into a 9.07 against Ewing. That’s when I officially tuned out.
This event had the worst scoring in a very long time. Consistently bad.
Caity may be the best thing to happen to surfing in 30 years
That finish was epic
the “I have no idea what to do now, and I’m like really tired so I’m just gonna fall off my board like a rag doll” claim was legend….and wonderful prelude to her walking up the beach interview.
Yaaayyy! Now we get hear all the exciting things 2% Crew is up to. It’s like watching the NSYNC of Professional Surfing …. https://media0.giphy.com/me…
I took my wife and 7-year old to Disneyland instead of watching the contest. I learned a lot:
1) Never go to Disneyland during Spring Break, especially after its been raining for 3 days.
2) If you don’t feel like walking because you are so fat just get a motorized scooter chair thing and clog up every single walkway when you need more fried food.
3) Face/neck tattoos are the norm.
4) Buy the Genie Pass, because half the rides will be closed for repair.
5) Go to LegoLand and tell your kid it is actually Disneyland.
6) Don’t take mushroom chocolate then ride the Star Wars rides.
7) Save your money and take your family on a surf or snowboard trip instead.
8) The best time to ride rides is at opening or right before closing.
9) The Anaheim Marriott is in fact not “walkable” to the park.
10) If your kid had fun that is all that really matters.
but did you wear personalized tee shirts to commemorate the moment??
The Housh always wins.
Congrats on his first Bell*
After the Medina heat and love from the judges I just put money on Houshmand every heat. Simmers the same put the money on her or Picklum most of the time and your in front. Before the cut in average conditions there is money to be made out of the WSL shitshow.
more ct wins than kolohe andino
Dropped by O’Neil yesterday too.
thought he had a 5 year deal though?
Guess he could have posted an April fools joke on April 2.
100%
2%
Kelly currently only ranked higher than injured surfers.
Texbook for ungracefully bowing out.
So the big question, what’s the WSL gonna do when he doesn’t qualify again this year? Throw him another wildcard?
Who cares? It’s not important at all anymore. We can just wait and see.
True!
They’ve already got an “ex world champion” wildcard in the rules, though next year that would seem to be pencilled in for Toledo.
Lmao
He also could have fathered all of them.
giant killer—a killer of giants, or a giant who kills?
This is where we are…I saw the 4 semi-finalists and thought yeah, nah, tune in next at Margs.
Then see here on the BG that Houshmand won and thought yeah nah, won’t bother with the highlights, will tune in next at Margs.
Brazo detected
Haha fucken brilliant. The projections and paranoia must be painful. Brazo? Yeah nah, not quite mate.
I wonder if that log Griff set loose at trestles somehow found its way to Bells and torpedo’d him in a karmic sense ?
Something for Griff to get his head around, I think.
I believe that log was jettisoned at Lacanau. The Quiky Poo.
My sources tell me that this was not a singularity.
Something to do with initiation rites and the 2% club.
It’s been hard to pin down the veracity of the story …. So much like Griff, I thought I’d put it out there.
The Butterfly affect