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| 'Your Boetie' Mark McCarthy powering through the barrel during the Arica Challenge 2011 photo IBA/Spex |
Photos by Spex/IBA - Words courtesy of IBA WORLD TOUR (Check it out!)
Arica, Chile (Friday 27 May 2011): In solid 6 foot (2.5 meter) waves at El Gringo, round 3 of the leader board stage has been completed, establishing the top 16 and eliminating the last 16 seeds from competition.
Two time World Champion, Ben Player (AUS, NSW, Avalon) is looking unstoppable with a 100% success rate throughout the 3 rounds. "I have had bloody hard heats... I'm feeling pretty confident now" Player elated.
For South American power house Magno Oliviera (BRA, Guarapari), todays round 3 win secured him the 12th slot in the top 16 of the leader board. " I like the new 3 round leader board format," Oliviera added, "I am comfortable and feeling safer now."
Local rider Alan Munoz (CHI) is the lone chilean remaining in the event. His fearless approach and local knowledge at the infamous El Gringo, have attained him two 2nd and a 1st place finish throughout the 3 rounds, earning him a comfortable 4th seed within the top 16. Having already beaten 6 of the top 24 riders in the world, Munoz has proven his worth in the top half of the draw. " I am motivated and so happy, I feel light." Munoz added," I just want to keep this momentum and thank everybody for their support."
Mark McCarthy (RSA, Richards Bay) scored an impressive 16.50 out of a possible 20 points, securing a much needed win, placing him in the top half of the leader board. McCarthy executed one of his massive signature backflips and backed it up with a roll, earning him a 9.25, one of the highest scores of the day. McCarthy commented: "I have had no rhythm the past few days and am just happy to have a heat where I could find 2 good waves and get the points I needed today."
2010 World Champion, Amaury Lavernhe (REU, St Gilles) pulled out a spectacular win in the dying seconds of his round 3 heat today, catapulting him into the 2nd spot of the top 16. Lavernhe describes his last wave: "I thought it was a pretty bad wave and paddled really hard for it, but It was actually a really nice with a pit and small ARS out of the barrel". Lavernhe scored an excellent 8.83 for his efforts. "Tomorrow is going to be really consistent...pretty massive, making for a good comp." Lavernhe added.
The final day will unfold tomorrow from 7:30am Arica time. Starting with four 4 man heats in round 4 and then moving into man on man quarter and semi finals, finishing with a 30 minute 2 man final.
All the action will be on the live broadcast at www.redbull.com and www.
The call will be made at 7:00am local time, (1:00am Hawaii, 8:00am Rio de Janeiro, 1:00pm Cape Town, 7:00pm Perth, 9:00pm Sydney). For specific time zones, use the IBA World Clock.
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| Alan Munoz photo IBA/Spex |
After round 3, the updated leader board displays the seeds of the remaining 16 riders left in the event and the bottom half of the field who were eliminated today.
We'll be bringing you the updates of the Final day asap, it was today and news is that Mark McCarthy preformed really well. He unfortunately couldn't out shine Tamega in the man on man Semi Final.
But well done Mark on an awesome result!
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| Amaury Lavernhe photo IBA/Spex |
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| photo IBA/Spex |
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| Magno Oliviera photo IBA/Spex |
