Kelly Slater and Joel Parkinson exude confidence on day 1 of Rip ...

Kelly Slater and Joel Parkinson exude confidence on day 1 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal

America?s Kelly Slater and Australia?s Joel Parkinson put their class on display during the opening round of Rip Curl Pro Portugal, the eighth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which continued at Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal, on Saturday, October 13.

Slater managed to claim a comprehensive victory over his compatriots Dillon Perillo and Damien Hobgood in the fifth heat to advance straight into the third round while relegating both his rivals to Round 3.

The sixth heat saw Parkinson get the better of America?s Kolohe Andino and France?s Pierre-Valentin Labo, confirming his place in Round 3 while forcing both his rivals to take a trip to the second round.

With improving three-to-five foot waves breaking at the main event site on the first active day of the event, the huge crowd in attendance was right to expect a dose of spectacular performances from the best in the business.

Slater, reigning 11-time ASP World Champion, was still oozing confidence due to his victory in France and was without any doubt the man to beat at the latest stage.

The 40-year-old Floridian, however, was as formidable as ever during his heat against Perillo and Hobgood.

Locking his first business-wave, he posted an impressive 8.17 on the score-board and went on to back it up with an additional 5.50-point ride to get to a heat-total of 13.67 points.

The score turned out to be too much for both his rivals, with Perillo concluding the heat with a two-wave total of 6.60 points, whereas Hobgood had to settle for a heat-total of 5.90 points.

As a result, it turned out to be a comfortable journey for Slater from Round 1 to Round 3, whereas Perillo and Hobgood were forced to take the longer road leading to the third round.

The sixth heat ended up featuring a pretty exciting contest between Parkinson and Andino, the present and the future of the sport in the view of my critics.

The Australian surfer went to work early and found himself an 8.00-point wave, which he later backed with a superb 9.17-point ride to get to a heat-total of 17.17 points.

Andino was not in a mood to let his rival take control of the heat without facing a tough challenge and that is exactly what he offered through a determined fight. However, he only managed to get to a heat-total of 15.36 points, which comprised of a 6.93 and 8.43-point ride.

Labo was also part of the three-man battle, but his performance was nothing to write home about. The French surfer only managed to collect a couple of scores in the one-point range, thus finishing with a heat-total of 2.96 points.

The surfing action continued with the remaining heats of Rip Curl Pro Portugal?s Round 1 at Supertubos as the day went on.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Kelly-Slater-and-Joel-Parkinson-exude-confidence-on-day-1-of-Rip-Curl-Pro-Portugal-a196606

tom coughlin wes welker eli manning eli manning kelly clarkson national anthem halftime show super bowl halftime show 2012