| Danilo Couto wins the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards 2011 |
| Saturday, 30 April 2011 13:54 |
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Danilo Couto has conquered the 2011 Billabong XXL "Ride of the Year". Couto took the main big wave surfing title with his Jaws ride. The Brazilian surfer from Bahia surfed a 20-metre wave and won the prestigious event after reaching the finals for the fifth time. "I've been feeling really good for two months, ever since I caught that wave," said Couto. "I couldn't sleep for days, knowing I had done something so special. To be a part of surf history, to have an impact ... it's special." Benjamin Sanchis, from Hossegor, scored the "Biggest Wave" trophy after surfing a giant wall of water at Belharra, France, on February 16, 2011. "I'm not only happy for myself, but I'm stoked for Europe", said a beaming Sanchis. "This is a big win and I'm really proud, I'm really happy. The wave, Belharra, is about 30 minutes from my house. It wasn't even a big day for that spot, it gets bigger for sure." The "Monster Paddle" and the "Monster Tube" winner was Shane Dorian and his Peahi wave. He takes home a $50,000 prize money. "It was an epic swell, a real late season swell,” recalled Dorian. "I didn't really catch a lot of big waves throughout the whole year. I was just stoked the swell came my way, near my house in Maui, and we scored. The Monster Tube award is pretty special. I mean every surfer wants to get tubed, right?" The "Wipe Out Of The Year" went to Mark Mathews, after a dangerous fall at Shipstern Bluff. Kauai surfer Sion Milosky - who tragically drowned last month at Maverick’s in Northern California -posthumously won the Surfline Best Men’s Performance Award for a string of outstanding high surf sessions. Milosky was the first top-level big wave surfer to die while surfing big waves since the XXL awards were established in 2000. The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards 2011 granted Danilo Couto a $50,000 check. The event acknowledge the achievements of the world's finest surfers in the biggest waves, anywhere in the world. BILLABONG XXL RIDE OF THE YEAR SURFER WINNER: WINNER BILLABONG GIRLS BEST PERFORMANCE AWARD Watch the best waves of the year, here.
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| Last Updated on Monday, 02 May 2011 08:54 |
