It's no secret that 19-year-old Griffin Colapinto exceeded expectations during his rookie debut on the Gold Coast -- making it to the Quarterfinals and eliminating numerous heavy hitters along the way. Despite the pressure, the San Clemente native maintained composure throughout and looked almost unfazed during his interviews.
The youngest rookie on Tour just took down Brazilian wunderkind Filipe Toledo in Round 1 of the Rip Curl Pro at Winkipop.
The question still remained as to whether Colapinto could continue his streak and perform at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. After his Round 1 heat today against Filipe Toledo and Michael February though, it's clear that he isn't slowing down. Colapinto sent both competitors into the dreaded Round 2 elimination heats by earning a 7.00 on his opening wave, applying the pressure early on.
"The wave is pretty similar to Lowers, my home break," said the San Clemente native. "And I like that. This area is cool. It reminds me a lot of California. I've been tripping out on how many people came out today. On the drive down my dad and I had to drive on the wrong side of the road just to get around the crowd and make it here in time. It was kinda sketchy but we made it safe."
Filipe Toledo - WSL / Jack Barripp
Despite Toledo's impressive performance during the freesurf sessions, the Brazilian was unable to get the edge over Colapinto. The rookie is currently sitting at No. 3 on the Jeep Leaderboard but given his current momentum he could go a lot higher. His go-for-broke mentality continues to earn him points with the judges -- both on the Gold Coast and during his Round 1 Heat at Winki.
Check back Saturday local time for the call at 7:30am AEDT and watch live daily on Facebook and WSL.com.
Griffin Colapinto Knocks Filipe Toledo to Round 2
Ali Shrode
It's no secret that 19-year-old Griffin Colapinto exceeded expectations during his rookie debut on the Gold Coast -- making it to the Quarterfinals and eliminating numerous heavy hitters along the way. Despite the pressure, the San Clemente native maintained composure throughout and looked almost unfazed during his interviews.
The question still remained as to whether Colapinto could continue his streak and perform at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. After his Round 1 heat today against Filipe Toledo and Michael February though, it's clear that he isn't slowing down. Colapinto sent both competitors into the dreaded Round 2 elimination heats by earning a 7.00 on his opening wave, applying the pressure early on.
"The wave is pretty similar to Lowers, my home break," said the San Clemente native. "And I like that. This area is cool. It reminds me a lot of California. I've been tripping out on how many people came out today. On the drive down my dad and I had to drive on the wrong side of the road just to get around the crowd and make it here in time. It was kinda sketchy but we made it safe."
Despite Toledo's impressive performance during the freesurf sessions, the Brazilian was unable to get the edge over Colapinto. The rookie is currently sitting at No. 3 on the Jeep Leaderboard but given his current momentum he could go a lot higher. His go-for-broke mentality continues to earn him points with the judges -- both on the Gold Coast and during his Round 1 Heat at Winki.
Check back Saturday local time for the call at 7:30am AEDT and watch live daily on Facebook and WSL.com.
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