Richard and Geary - native son doing well so far......
Florence Delivers Performance of the Winter at Volcom Pipe Pro
John John Florence, scoring one of four 9-point rides in his heat.
PIPELINE, Oahu/Hawaii (Friday, February 1, 2013) - All eyes were on Pipeline’s favorite son John John Florence at the Volcom Pipe Pro today, as a perfect pairing of phenomenal waves and supernatural talent unfolded before a highly charged beach crowd. It fast became a 25-minute Florence super session as he clocked up four incredible tube rides in succession: 9.3, 9.53, 9.73, and 9.97. His top two scores delivered the highest heat total of the competition so far – 19.7 points out of 20. But the only Electric Perfect 10 of the day went to Santa Cruz’s Nat Young, in his competitive debut at the Banzai Pipeline. Wave face heights were consistently around 15- to 20-feet today, and there were more than a day’s worth of horrific wipeouts.
In his first competitive appearance of the 2013 ASP season, this is just the beginning of a long year already loaded with expectation for Florence. Having come so close to a world title in 2012, he is prepared for the pressure but focused on surfing. If today was any indication, it will be a devastating year for his peers. Florence, 20, is the top seed and defending champion of this event.
Asked if he felt like any of his barrels today should have been a 10, he replied with a laugh: "That's a hard one to say when you're the one riding the wave, but they all felt pretty cool. I think there's probably some better waves out there."
Better waves perhaps, but not better surfing. From his dominant positioning and late take-offs, to his knife-edged bottom turns and foam-ball barrels, it was a saltwater soliloquy that left the other three surfers in the heat adrift.
"That was a really fun surf session," Florence said, all smiles on the beach. "Just being there and having no-one out, it firing like this with wave after wave after wave.... it's a pretty special feeling. I think this is one of the better days of Pipe all (winter). It was really hard to come in."
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