Aug 26 (Reuters) – Canadian teen Erin Brooks scored a perfect 10-point ride as the Fiji Pro kicked off in solid surf on Wednesday, threading a long, deep tube in her first-round heat to confirm her as one of the favourites to win stop number eight on the world tour.
Brooks, hot off a win at the Tahiti Pro earlier this month, took off deep on one of the biggest waves of the day and pulled into a gaping cavern that reeled down the reef of Cloudbreak.
The 19-year-old perfectly matched the wave’s pace, weaving through multiple sections inside the barrel before emerging into the channel and holding her head in disbelief.
“That was definitely the best heat of my life,” said Brooks, who won the Fiji event as a 17-year-old wildcard in 2024.
“Through the whole barrel, I was like, ‘When is it going to get me?’ – I thought I was going to get hit by the foamball – and then it just let me through.”
Combined with an earlier eight-point ride, Texas-born Brooks finished with a two-wave total of 18 out of 20, the highest heat total of the day, to comfortably beat Australia’s Sophie McCulloch, who could only manage a total of 3.06.
Tahiti’s Vahine Fierro put her experience in powerful South Pacific reef breaks to good use as she racked up two solid tubes for a 14.17 total and a victory over California’s Alyssa Spencer.
Portuguese rookie Francisca Veselko held on for a tense win over Australia’s two-time world champion Tyler Wright.
In the men’s event, Brazil’s Yago Dora tapped into the form that won the world title at the same venue last year, starting with a series of stylish carves followed by a deep tube for an 8.67 and backing it up with a 6.73 to take a second-round win over countryman Mateus Herdy.
Californian Cole Houshmand knocked out Australia’s former world number two Ethan Ewing as he combined some hefty gouges and deep tubes for a 15.17 two-wave total.
(Reporting by Lincoln Feast in Sydney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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