Longbottom into Billabong wildcard final
Gold Coast surfer Dylan Longbottom survived two massive wipeouts to come from behind and surf his way through to the final 16 for the Billabong Pro wildcard trials.
Longbottom waited until the final minutes of his third round heat, dropping into a 2.5m wave, pulling deep inside the tube and emerging to bust a critical air-drop-floater over dry reef, earning an 8.50 from the judges.
"I got my first one and I knew I wasn't deep enough so I tried to stall and the lip hit me in the head and flipped me upside down and I hit my board and then the reef," said Longbottom.
"When I paddled back out this set came in wide so I swung and just got held under for so long, I was thinking, what's going on.
"My next one was a good long barrel and I know I needed a good score so I went for the floater. There was just enough water for my fins and it was so clear and green with big coral heads everywhere.
"I must have landed between two of them (Coral Heads) and then just jumped into the white wash and bounced along the reef."
Longbottom's unique barrel riding skills were enough for second place behind the contest's standout Hawaiian Kalani Chapman.
Lennox Head's Anthony Walsh is the only other Australian left in the top 16 after he advanced behind Hawaii's Liam McNamarra.
Eliminated were former WCT surfer Danilo Costa of Brazil and former world champ Derek Ho.
Competition will resume on Friday morning, depending on the conditions, with the two wildcard trials finalists earning a spot in the WCT event starting
Source: theage.com.au
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