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Walker steps towards junior success
by George Mojo
18/01/2006:// Australian Beau Walker toppled fellow countryman and number one seed Ben Dunn to secure a round three berth at the Billabong World Junior Championships in Sydney.
Walker powered his way to a heat victory by five clear points at Narrabeen Beach with some incredibly tight and exciting moves.
Never phased by Dunn who has gained the reputation for being the ultimate competition machine, Walker opened up early with a very strong ride and managed to put himself in the perfect position to take the heat as his opponent opted to be patient and as result was dragged by the current out of the way of the best waves.
"I've been dreading this heat and when the event was called off yesterday it just dragged my anxiousness out a bit more," said Walker.
"And now to come through with the win is great. I had to get off to quick start out there against Dunn because he is such a great surfer. I wanted to apply the pressure straight up. I went out there with the attitude that I had nothing to lose so I have to keep that all the way through," he added.
In the opening heat of the round, TJ Barron indicated he was eager to take another world title trophy back to his Hawaiian homeland and follow in the steps of his good friend and three time Foster's ASP Men's World Tour champion Andy Irons who won this event back in 1998.
Barron locked in the highest heat total of the day when he defeated Jean Sebastien Esteinne (FRA) 17.50 to 6.33 and grabbed the attention of the judges and the crowd when he managed to tuck into one of the only tuberides of the day.
"Yeah it was fun out there," said Barron. "The waves were fun and it went my way and I just had a great time. I managed to get a barrel out there. I was thinking of hitting the lip and then I just squeaked under it and got a cover-up. I'm glad to be in round three. I've travelled a long way so it's great to get through."
In what was one of the most courageous efforts seen in a surfing event, Dion Agius grabbed a last minute win against his rival, Tahitian Taumata Puhetini.
Surfing with a broken bone in his foot Agius literally pulled the cast off his leg inorder to surf in the event - and the aerial manoeuvre he landed to win would have placed enormous stress on the injury.
"My ankle is a bit sore at the moment," said Agius. "I've been popping pain killers all week so I can compete. It's supposed to be in a cast for bit longer but I obviously can't surf with it on so I took it off. I then cut my toe and woke up yesterday with the worst cold ever so it's like someone has it in for me at the moment… That last wave though… well it made up for it."
New Zealand surfer Bobby Hansen was another to excel as he rights himself after three years of being plagued by injury.
Having two shoulder reconstructions and last year smashing his knee it's the first time he's been in a position to attack competition with confidence.
In his heat with Japan's Hideyoshi Tanaka, he was lucky to grab some solid waves as the rip kept dragging them out to sea. He accredited his win to having a bit more time to prepare by competing in the trials.
"I think in the heat I was pretty lucky," Hansen said. "We were both lost at sea out there and I luckily managed to get a few good ones. I think with having to surf the trials we had a bit more time to warm up so maybe that's why the trialists are doing well. It was really tough out there."
In the girls division, Australia's Nicola Atherton caused an upset when she defeated one of the top favourites in Stephanie Gilmore in the quarter finals.
She now moves ahead into the semi finals and is hoping that she and her good mate Jessi Miley-Dyer will both make it through for a local girl final.
"Stephanie is definitely one of the event favourites and it feels fantastic to come away with a win," said Atherton. "The conditions are tricky but I was happy with the call to run it because I've had so much practice in waves like these. I was happy with my strategy and if conditions stay similar to this I'll stick with it. It would be a dream come true to have an all Sydney girl final."
[Carissa Moore (in yellow) receiving the winner's prize]
[The number of high-rated Australian surf competitions are set to increase]
[Pablo Gutierrez winner of the Superbock Pro]
Hawaiian Carissa Moore won the Roxy Pro Junior surfing in her first ever contest in France
ASP International has announce the inception of their fourth regional branch, ASP Australasia
Twenty-six-year-old Pablo Guitierrez took top honours in the Superbock Pro in Portugal after defeating fellow Portugeuse surfer Eduardo Fernandes in the final
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