More Day 2 Action From QS World Juniors

On the second day of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships the pride of the current holders of the team title - Australia - is on a high. As Sally Fitzgibbon obtained the day top mark, far ahead of her main rival - World Champion Pauline Ado. Chilean surfer Manuel Selman surprised more than a few by beating European Champion Joan Duru.

Despite a raise in temperature to an enjoyable 26ºC, the wind and the waves haven’t changed at Costa de Caparica. In this small wave - around half a meter - scenario there were some surprising results on the second day of competition at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.

On the boys Under-18 competition, the main prize of the day undoubtedly goes to Chilean surfer Manuel Selmam, who beat the current holder of the European title in this category - Frenchman Joan Duru - on their heat. In doing so, Selman went over expectations and found his own style of surfing, after a quiet outing on the first day; “I’m very happy to go through to the next phase and to have beaten a model surfer. I was second yesterday, today I surpassed myself!”.

Also in a mood for celebration was last year’s World Championships runner-up Sally Fitzgibbons, who got the day’s best ride on a near perfect wave - 9.50 out of a maximum 10 points. Aged only 16, the golden girl of the Australian selection - defending the team title at Caparica - staked her claim as one of the favourites for the title. Silver Medallist at last year’s World Championships and winner of the Pro-Junior Under-21 competition, Fitzgibbons glowed in her joy; “Even with the small waves, I had a great day. As for a place in the finals, I take each heat at a time, we’ll see how far I can go!”. Defending her World title, Pauline Ado, from France, also went through, despite a less dazzling performance.

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Source: International Surfing Association

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