Keahi Places Fourth in Sunset Pro
Good swell at the iconic beach made for a challenging final for our only Aussie in the finals, Keahi De Aboitiz, who had to settle for fourth place behind Zane Schweitzer, Kai Lenny and Brazillian Caio Vaz, who won the event with two great waves, a 7.5 and a 6.67.
Going through the rounds we had four Aussies who all could have won it, Keahi made the finals, but hot on his heels were Jackson Close, Beau Nixon and Justin Holland. These four are right on the cutting edge of stand up paddle surfing right now, they just couldn’t find the waves they needed to make the podium!
Keahi was still stoked on his fourth place, saying after the event: “Stoked to make it to the final of Sunset Beach Pro today. After a couple good heats getting there, I ended up making a few mistakes in the final and had to settle for 4th place. Still stoked with a great start to the year and looking forward to the next one. Thanks for all the support.”
Ever heard of the guy who came first? Caio Vaz is a Brazilian guy who’s been runner up for several years going. After cracking two awesome waves in the final, this year finally went his way. Well deserving of the win after coming so close last year, Vaz got down from the podium with his mates, saying:
"I can't describe it! I saw others go big, and I realized that I should go big. So I went. It's Barbecue time now!"
Stay tuned to watch Keahi on his quest to become the world SUP surfing champion in 2014. Next stop’s in Brazil in a few weeks time!
Shellharbour, NSW
