Whatshot
Italo Wins & Jordy Smith Runner-Up at Supertubos
Italo Wins & Jordy Smith Runner-Up at Supertubos
Peniche, Portugal and South African Jordy Smith finished as runner-up at the MEN's Rip Curl Pro Portugal, the penultimate stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) this past weekend. Italo Ferreira (BRA) and Caroline Marks (USA) claimed victory in the Final bout against SmithÊand Lakey Peterson (USA), respectively, excelling in pumping four-to-six foot surf at Supertubos.
Stop No. 9 on the women's CT and 10 on the men's CT, the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, witnessed incredible performances and major Title Race drama, culminating with Ferreira's and Marks' victories. ''That was so sick, I'm so glad to go back-to-back and win again,'' said Ferreira. ''Congrats to everyone. I'm so happy, what an amazing event. It has been so special for me the last couple of months, I'm so happy with myself and my team, it's been amazing. It was a special heat for me against Jordy (Smith) who's one of the best competitors. Hawaii is going to be fun for sure. The race is open and I need to learn a little bit more, but let's try!''
This result marks the Brasilian's career's fifth event win and the second this season after the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast back in April. With two runner-ups more recently in J-Bay and France, Ferreira will take hold of the rankings lead and yellow Jeep Leader Jersey heading to the Billabong Pipe Masters.
While Smith chipped away with a couple of average scores early on, Ferreira came out swinging in the Final, posting a Perfect 10 in the first five minutes of the heat. Ferreira went on to extend his lead as Smith looked at finding two new scores for an 18.43 (out of a possible 20) combined total with 15 minutes on the clock. As time continued to run down, Smith couldn't find the waves he needed and Ferreira walked away with the win.
''You want the best in the world when they're at their best and that was him right there,'' said Smith. ''Congratulations to Italo (Ferreira), he surfed unbelievably. I kind of needed to start sticking some big airs but I'm psyched to bring it on to Pipe. My training will be pretty much to spend as much time out there as I can and work on my boards and my physical body and that's really all you can do, show up on the day and be ready for it.''

