Photo: WSL // YouTube
When trying to identify how a surfer won or lost a heat, it’s easy to focus on the big moments. Things like a massive air, or a yawning barrel are certainly the most readily identifiable culprits, but sometimes it can come down to just a flick of the wrist. According to paddling technique coach Rob Case, that’s exactly what happened in the quarterfinal heat between Cole Houshmand and Jack Robinson. He argues one tiny error made Houshmand miss an entire wave, in a heat he would eventually go on to lose.
In a frame-by-frame analysis of the paddle battle in question, Case shows that, at the end of Houshmand’s second to last stroke, he lingers a bit on the upswing, flicking up some water in the process (around the 4:50 mark in the video). That’s what he says was the kicker.
“Cole completely changes his technique,” explains Case. “He gets that little extra push up of water. For every action, it’s an equal and opposite reaction, so if you push up, the reaction is that you go down. That’s the key difference here. Cole not only delays his recovery to get [his arm] forward, because of that little extra, but he takes a totally different route back to the entry point.”
Case also points out that, during all this, Robinson hasn’t missed a beat. “Jack’s got his whole arm in the water before Cole even gets his hand in the water,” he continues. “That stroke right here, this one right here, made all the difference in the world.”
