Jeremy Flores pulled into victory in the final heat against defending event champion, Gabriel Medina. Photo: WSL
Congratulations to Jeremy Flores, your 2015 Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion!
In the explosive final heat against event favorite Gabriel Medina, Flores got an early jump and exerted his dominance over the world champion and defending event champion, hindering Medina from becoming the only surfer in professional surfing history to win back-to-back events at Teahupo’o.
On the final day of competition, shifty winds and a strong westerly influence in the swell resulted in a particularly brutal day, as the remaining 12 surfers repeatedly broke boards, hit the bottom, and left skin on the razor sharp Tahitian reef. Coming off a brutal skull fracture acquired during a free surf session in Indonesia last month, Jeremy was still able to put his injuries aside and throw himself over the ledge and onto the winner’s podium.
In the final heat, Jeremy Flores opened up his account by posting a massive 9.87, followed by a backup of a 7.00, leaving Medina unable to find a decent wave to answer back. After taking down one heavy hitter after another, this marks Jeremy’s first CT win since the Pipe Masters in 2010.
In addition to Jeremy’s incredible victory, Cj Hobgood’s Teahupo’o story was perhaps the talk of the event. Although he fell short to Jeremy in the semifinals (his first semifinal finish in nearly five years), Cj wrote an incredible comeback story, as he scored the only perfect 10 of the event and earned the very prestigious Andy Irons Award, which is bestowed to the most determined, most committed surfer in the event.
As none of the world title contenders were able to capitalize at Teahupo’o, Adriano de Souza remains the leader in the Jeep ratings leaderboard heading into Lower Trestles.
