Jordy up after Bells Beach

This before being eliminated by eventual winner, Mick Fanning (AUS), in wind affected 1.5 metre waves earlier today.

The lanky former Durbanite who now resides in San Clemente, California, fell behind early in the 30 minute encounter before punctuating a long ride with a series of explosive, fins free manoeuvres. He earned an excellent 8.33 out of 10 but still needed a near perfect 9.44 to advance to the semi-finals when the heat ended,

Smith’s haul of 5 200 points moved him up four places to No. 5 on the WSL CT rankings with two of the 11 events on the 2015 schedule now completed.

Fanning went on to defeat Nat Young (USA) in the semis and then beat Adriano de Souza (BRA) in the closest final in Championship Tour history. The pair tied on 15.27 points each but Fanning got the nod on a count-back to the highest single ride which the Australian clinched 8.17 v 7.57.

Fanning is now tied with Kelly Slater (USA) and Mark Richards (AUS) with four Bells Beach wins each. He won his first in 2001 as a wildcard and then again in 2012 and 2014. The three-time world champion also ties with Andy Irons (HAW), with both having 20 CT event wins.

“I’d never put myself in a category with MR (Mark Richards), Kelly Slater and Andy Irons,” said Fanning. “Those guys are my heroes. MR is a god, Kelly is a king and Andy is forever, it’s awesome.”
 
The first ever tiebreak final puts Fanning on a path to his fourth world title and he will take the gold leader jersey going into the third event on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) in Margaret River.

Today’s match-up was the pair’s tenth in CT history, including three at Bells Beach, and Fanning has taken seven wins while De Souza has three.

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

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