Wade Carmichael isn’t a guy that you hear about winning contests all that often. The 23-year-old Australian–who, going into the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa, was sitting in 59th on the QS ratings–just beat a bunch of the world’s best surfers to win the first gem in the Triple Crown.
If the term dark horse should ever be applied to anyone in any situation (save maybe for whoever is in last place on the ‘QS winning at Teahupoo), it is Wade Carmichael at the Hawaiian Pro. Although he’s known for his power surfing, he’s never employed it quite as thoroughly as he did from the outset of the Hawaiian Pro. The win catapults him into 13th place on the QS, and pending a strong result at the Vans World Cup next week, puts him in a very strong position to qualify for next year’s CT. And of course, because of his recent victory, he’s sitting atop the leader board for the Vans Triple Crown title, an accomplishment sought by every tour surfer in the world.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Carmichael after his win. “I was waiting around for 20 minutes out in the water and I thought everyone got scores in the end and I couldn’t believe all the boys on the beach, I was just freaking out.”
The waves on the final day proved to be just perfect for Carmichael’s style of surfing: glassy and head high, he was able to power his way to the podium with gouging power turns. In a final that included Brazilian aerial wizard Filipe Toledo and last year’s Haleiwa winner Dusty Payne, Carmichael kicked off his sprint for the finish line early, dropping a 9.07 in the early stages.
Filipe’s impressive air game was no match for Carmichael’s classic power moves, although he was able to score a 9.50 for a single maneuver on a smaller runner.
Although Toledo managed to pull down the highest wave score of the day, he wasn’t able to find a decent back up score. “The last ten minutes was completely flat, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just need one wave,'” he said. “And that middle wave came, it wasn’t a set but it was a good wave and I couldn’t do anything better than a 5.30. But yeah, second place is not bad and I’m really stoked with a second. Just happy for all the boys, also Zeke and Dusty but of course for Wade.”
Also impressive was Hawaiian Ezekiel Lau. Early in the heat, he found a wave, opened up with a massive, powerful turn, then showed his ability to mix it up with a big aerial.
The second stop on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing starts up on Tuesday, November 24th. Catch the action live on Worldsurfleague.com
