Indonesian surfing athlete Rio Waida advanced to the last 16 of the WSL Fiji Pro after leading the first round of the championship.
World Surfing League (WSL) on Tavarua Island, Fiji.
In the race broadcast live by the WSL on Thursday (22/8), Rio competed in Heat 7 with two South African surfers, Matthew McGillivary and Jordy Smith, who were his rivals in the elimination round of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Rio made his two best waves with scores of 6.20 and 6.63. A total of 12.83 points made the Indonesian-Japanese surfer lead the Heat to advance to the round of 16 without going through the elimination round.
“First of all, Fiji is very beautiful. I feel like I’m at home, being in Mentawai. The water is warm,” Rio said in a post-race interview.
“Honestly, I just want to surf, I don’t want to think about winning or losing. Mentally I’m too tired to compete.
after the Olympics, but my plan to come here is just to surf to the best of my ability,” he continued.
The Fiji Pro is not only the ninth and final stop on the WSL regular season tour but also the last chance to compete for a top-five finish.
Also read: Rio Waida Can’t Wait to Compete in the 2023 WSL Championship Tour
The event, which features the world’s top 24 male and 12 female surfers, will determine the WSL Final 5 field for this year’s world title.
Rio, who started the Fiji Pro ranked 10th in the world, has now risen to ninth in the world thanks to his first-round win, admitted
don’t want to be fixated on being in the Top 5.
“Of course the more people talk about the Top 5, I welcome the top five to go for it, I mean, I’m in
“10th place, people in my hometown are asking me about the Top 5, I don’t care about that,” said the 24-year-old surfer.
Also read: Failed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Rio Waida: Like Numb
“I just want to surf and enjoy my time here. This is the last event, this is a chance for me to improve my level.
me. I just want to surf to the best of my ability,” he added.
However, in the heat round, Rio was happy to be ahead of Jordy Smith who stopped his progress in the second round of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Jordy always beats me. I’m very happy and proud of myself for beating him in the first round, but it’s still a long way to go to the final,” Rio concluded. (Ant/Z-1)
#Rio #Waida #Advances #Fiji #Pro
