| Pressure rises in the World Surfing Games |
| Thursday, 16 October 2008 09:08 |
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The do or die rounds of the repercharge were the main attraction today at the main podium. The Open Men´s Round 2 was held in two foot waves, as the tide forced the Contest Director to suspend the final heats of the day. A total of 13 heats were held and more surfers were eliminated from the championships. Those who overcame the pressure made it through, adding more points to their respective teams. The Men and Women's Bodyboard Main Event rounds were held at Podium two and there were some radical performances as riders worked hard to progress through to the next rounds. Unfortunately it also meant that the for the first time some bodyboarders were relegated to Repercharge Round two. The day's best performances came from ASP World Tour Surfer Dayyan Neve of Australia and Spanish star Pablo Gutierrez, who both posted 16.83 points in their respective repercharge heats. Among the bodyboarders Natasha Sagardia of Puerto Rico was the top women of the round, scoring 11.30, while Pierre Costes (FRA) once again obtained the highest combined score of the round, a respectable 15.17. Manuel Centeno of Portugal, the gold medallist in 2006, won another heat and the local rider is looking good for what is ahead. Spanish power "I felt really good; we were sitting just by the side of the jetty really close to each other, so there was a bit of a hassle to get a wave. I was lucky to find one good 7.83 that left me in an OK situation to look for the back up. So I quietly waited for the good one, it came; I did three good moves and scored a 9.00. I ended the heat first and I´m really happy. Anyway, I think I was lucky," Gutierrez said. Another chance for Dayyan He proved his class with style, posting an 8.50 and an 8 and easily winning his heat, which saw him advance to the next round with the highest tally in his division. Other highlights of the round were Gabriel Villarán (PER), Chris Dennis (TTB), Gilbert Brown (CRI) and Sebastián Alarcón (PER). Portugal bodyboarders are looking good for another podium finish Riding in their own country gives them local advantage but added pressure. Centeno said: "Is not easy, you have to know how to deal with it. I think that Hugo and I have the experience to face this situation. Expectations of the Portuguese people are high, but as for me, I like to think that I haven't won anything and this is the first contest I enter. This way I get the motivation I need to get the pressure out of me." Main Event Bodyboard Women´s semifinals decided Today best performance in this division came from Puerto Rican Natasha Sagardia who posted a combined a total of 11.30. Day 5
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