{"id":23185,"date":"2011-05-12T21:03:59","date_gmt":"2011-05-13T04:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=23185"},"modified":"2011-05-13T10:30:26","modified_gmt":"2011-05-13T17:30:26","slug":"alana-blanchard-distracting-in-rio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=23185","title":{"rendered":"Alana Blanchard Distracting In Rio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tyler-Wright\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, Tyler Wright<\/strong> (pictured above) slayed Courtney Conlogue<\/strong> and Claire Bevilacqua<\/strong> in Round 1 Heat 1 of the 2011 Billabong Pro Rio<\/a><\/strong> and after a few falls Stephanie Gilmore<\/strong> finally got back into world champion form in the two to three-foot surf, but it was Alana Blanchard’s<\/strong> bronzed, bouncing buns bobbing between breaks that had the Internet buzzing.<\/p>\n

“After watching Alana’s heat this am, I am fried,” said one fan. “My gosh. When in Rio do as the Rios do.”<\/p>\n

Even the webcast camera operators seemed to find it hard to keep the coverage in the PG rated zone whenever Alana was in the water. They were constantly panning away, or zooming in on the back of her head while Alana was paddling out.<\/p>\n

For her part, Alana looked pretty comfortable in her tiny Rip Curl Alana’s Closet <\/a><\/strong>bikini. After a third place finish in Round 1 behind Sofia Mulanovich<\/strong> and Coco Ho<\/strong>, she turned it up in Round 2 and soundly trounced Jessi Miley-Dyer<\/strong> 13.10 to 8.70.<\/p>\n

The rest of the women’s Round 1 and 2 heats went pretty much as expected with the top seeds doing what they do. For the official word from the ASP, including not one word about Alana Blanchard, follow the jump.\"Day02<\/a>
\nAlana Blanchard can surf. No doubt about that.<\/p>\n

BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio De Janeiro\/ Brazil (Thursday, May 12, 2011) \u2013 The ASP Top 17 kicked off the opening day of Billabong Rio Pro competition at the main event site of Barra Da Tijuca in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) surf. Today\u2019s highlights saw the ASP Women\u2019s World Tour\u2019s top seeds donate top performances to complete Rounds 1 and 2 before competition was called off due to deteriorating conditions in the afternoon.
\nStop No. 5 of 7 of the ASP Women\u2019s World Title Season, the Billabong Rio Pro plays a vital role in deciding the 2011 ASP Women\u2019s World Champion.<\/p>\n

Tyler Wright (AUS), 17, who is currently sitting at No. 3 in her rookie year on the ASP Women\u2019s World Tour, built momentum throughout her Round 1 heat by jumping out to a quick start on smaller inside waves before belting an 8.77 (out of 10) with a flurry of forehand turns on a right-hander to earn the day\u2019s highest single-wave score. The win relegated American Courtney Conlogue (USA), 17, and fellow Australian Claire Bevilacqua (AUS), 28, to Round 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they came through there were some fun ones out there but it\u2019s pretty inconsistent,\u201d Wright said. \u201cThe main thing for me was to get started quick and get the ball rolling and I\u2019m glad I did because nothing came in for the last 12 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coco Ho (HAW), 20, got off to a slow start at the Billabong Rio Pro and was sent to Round 2 by in-form Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich, 27. The young Hawaiian was quick to recover however, and eventually earned the day\u2019s highest heat total of 14.94 out of 20 to eliminate wildcard Maya Gabiera (BRA), 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had kind of a tough start this morning and was out of rhythm so I was going in to my Round 2 heat kind of down,\u201d Ho said. \u201cI got a slow start in Round 2 as well and was worried that my bad rhythm was continuing, but I eventually found my feet and finished my waves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 20, locked in to the best waves in her heat to open her Billabong Rio Pro campaign with an impressive 8.67 out of 10 and capped the heat off with at 5.17 to advance directly through to Round 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conditions have improved since this morning, it\u2019s just a matter of when they come through because there are massive lulls,\u201d Fitzgibbons said. \u201cIt was good to get one straight off and then there was a lot of hassling, so hopefully we have more waves for the next round.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzgibbons, who is currently trailing behind Hawaiian Carissa Moore (HAW), 18, in the hunt for the 2011 ASP Women\u2019s World Title, knows that another top result at the Billabong Rio Pro will be crucial in her quest for the frontrunner position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important event, we\u2019re over halfway through the season and I\u2019m just looking to remain consistent,\u201d Fitzgibbons said. \u201cI\u2019ll just put in my best efforts here and hopefully make my way to the final and have fun along the way.<\/p>\n

Carissa Moore, who is currently leading the ASP Women\u2019s World Title Ratings, has claimed two event victories this year and is on the prowl for another result in Rio De Janeiro to retain her position atop the standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important event to get some points,\u201d Moore said. \u201cIt\u2019s our fourth event in a row and it\u2019s been a long time away from home. It\u2019s definitely a key event for everyone\u2019s rating going into the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, shook off the nerves that often come along with the pressure to perform in front of the home crowd to take a commanding Round 1 victory by linking into several Barra Da Tijuca rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was nervous at first but I feel so much better right now,\u201d Lima said. \u201cThe waves are small and clean and everything\u2019s good because I\u2019m in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 23, reigning four-time ASP Women\u2019s World Champion, has yet to make a Final throughout her 2011 campaign and is out to use the Billabong Rio Pro as a breakthrough event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s new territory and I don\u2019t really like it,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI haven\u2019t made a Final yet and I feel like I\u2019m sort of learning how to surf heats again. I\u2019m definitely learning a lot, It\u2019s so funny how you can feel so familiar with something for so long, but it has been a good challenge and it\u2019s now or never at this event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura Enever (AUS), 19, who started her ASP Women\u2019s World Tour rookie campaign with an impressive 3rd place finish on the Gold Coast, had suffered three equal 13th place finishes over the last three events, but the fiery young Australian bounced back to life today with a Round 2 win over Claire Bevilacqua (AUS), 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been pretty nervous lately, I\u2019ve had three 13ths before coming here and I started with a 3rd at Snapper so my heart was definitely pounding at the end,\u201d Enever said. \u201cClaire (Bevilacqua) had that 7.6 and could have easily gotten a 6 so I just tried to breathe. I\u2019m glad I got that 8 at the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

When men\u2019s competition begins, 2010 ASP Rookie of the year Owen Wright (AUS), 21, will take on Heitor Alves (BRA), 29, and Bobby Martinez (USA), 28, in Heat 1.<\/p>\n

Billabong Rio Pro organizers will reconvene at 7am local time tomorrow for a possible 7:30am start.<\/p>\n

The Billabong Rio Pro men\u2019s waiting period runs from May 11 through 22 while the women\u2019s window is from May 12 through 16. To watch the event LIVE log on to http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com<\/p>\n

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com.<\/p>\n

Billabong Rio Pro Women\u2019s Round 1 Results:
\nHeat 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.27, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 10.17, Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 4.70
\nHeat 2: Silvana Lima (BRA) 12.50, Paige Hareb (NZL) 11.50, Felicity Palmateer (AUS) 9.47
\nHeat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 8.30, Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 5.00, Maya Gabriera (BRA) 3.56
\nHeat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 13.84, Laura Enever (AUS) 11.07, Andrea Lopez (BRA) 9.23
\nHeat 5: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.16, Pauline Ado (FRA) 8.43, Suelen Naraisa (BRA) 7.17
\nHeat 6: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.83, Coco Ho (HAW) 10.87, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 9.30<\/p>\n

Billabong Rio Pro Women\u2019s Round 2 Results:
\nHeat 1: Laura Enever (AUS) 14.40 def. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 12.60
\nHeat 2: Pauline Ado (FRA) 11.03 def. Felicity Palmateer (AUS) 8.00
\nHeat 3: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.94 def. Maya Gabeira (BRA) 4.17
\nHeat 4: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.44 def. Andrea Lopes (BRA) 8.17
\nHeat 5: Paige Hareb (NZL) 10.33 def. Suelen Naraisa (BRA) 5.96
\nHeat 6: Alana Blanchard (HAW) 13.10 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 8.70<\/p>\n

BILLABONG RIO PRO MEN\u2019S ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
\nHeat 1: Owen Wright (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA), Bobby Martinez (USA)
\nHeat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS)
\nHeat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA), TBA
\nHeat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW), TBA
\nHeat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), TBA
\nHeat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS), TBA
\nHeat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA), Gabe Kling (USA)
\nHeat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS)
\nHeat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA), Tiago Pires (PRT), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
\nHeat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF), Chris Davidson (AUS), Cory Lopez (USA)
\nHeat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS)
\nHeat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Taylor Knox (USA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, Tyler Wright (pictured above) slayed Courtney Conlogue and Claire Bevilacqua in Round 1 Heat 1 of the 2011 Billabong Pro Rio and after a few falls Stephanie Gilmore finally got back into world champion form in the two to three-foot surf, but it was Alana Blanchard’s bronzed, bouncing buns bobbing between breaks that had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23185"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23194,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23185\/revisions\/23194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}