Yesterday, December 17, 2018, was a good day at Pipe. Not a epic day, but good enough for Gabriel Medina to prove beyond any doubt that this year he was the best performer in internet-streamed surfing productions and an absolute ruler at Pipeline.
“All my heroes have won this contest,” Medina said. “I’m stoked to be a part of everything here. Winning this event is a little different. I really wanted this one, and I worked really hard for this one so I’m so happy. That was a good final. Julian (Wilson) is the toughest competitor to go up against so I’m lucky I got two good waves. He won in a Final against me a few years ago and I got this one, so it feels good. I really appreciate everyone that came down to watch and I’m stoked to put on such a great show. I’m so happy to be part of history – I’ve put in a lot of work.”
In other news Jesse Mendes (BRA) won the VANS Triple Crown of Surfing title following Jordy Smith’s (ZAF) Semifinal loss to Medina. Mendes collected a fifth place at Haleiwa, a runner-up in Sunset and a 9th at the Billabong Pipe Masters. Mendes is only the second surfer from Brazil to claim the prestigious award after Medina in 2015.
Special thanks to the Vans Triple Crown for allowing us to watch this made-for-the-internet production without having to jump through any facebook and/or registration hoops. Kind of reminded us of the good old days there for a minute.
[Link: Vans Triple Crown]
