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It was "on for young and old" in the first semi -- as the Australians say -- Taylor Knox's deep barrel at the end of the heat wasn't enough to beat Medina, while Joel Parkinson showed a surprising array of sliding tails and aerials to beat Alejo Muniz and advance to the final. And then it was Parko and Medina, duelling for the title in decent surf at 1pm. The young Brazilian, coiled tight, unwound with a blast posting a 7.5 and a 9 on his first two waves, putting Parko seriously behind the eight ball. Parko was left needing a 9.6 as time ran out, and the 17-year-old Brazilian was chaired up the beach amidst a forest of national flags. Joel Parkinson moved to second in the overall ratings following his runner up finish, but with the World Title already decided, the ASP Tour is off to Hawaii for the final event of the year at Pipeline.
© 2013 Rip CurlKelly Slater looked out of form losing to Gabriel Medina, (insert your preferred changing of the guard comment here). He said on Twitter, "Congrats to @gabrielmedinaa for another great event. Slow down or you'll be bored by the time you're 20 yrs old! Haha." Which when you run it through the Kelly filter could say, "Shit, you are me 20-years-ago."
© 2013 Lucia GriggiParko made the final, surfing with his typical smooth verve. If he does well at Pipe then he'll start a 2012 World Championship speculation flood. "It would have been nice to have won but I couldn't find a wave out there. Gabriel has been absolutely ripping this whole event and congratulations to him. He's got a huge future and I'm excited to watch him over the next few years. I just want to thank everyone here in San Francisco, it's been amazing."
© 2013 Lucia GriggiTaylor Knox is on a rich vein of form at the moment, the people's champ who seems to step up when the rankings call for it.
© 2013 Lucia Griggi45994 Visits -
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