The heat draw for Rio has been posted. Dusty Payne, out with an ankle injury, will be replaced by fellow Hawaiian Freddy P. Though presently in the heat draw, Kelly Slater is likely out too. He tweeted (wow I hate that word) earlier today: "I can surf but can't really turn on heel still. Stitches in foot. Likely won't be in Brazil for the event. And it's not April Fool's day." So no Slater for Rio. Convenient. At least it's not J-Bay he's missing this year.
With Kelly out, the World Title seems to be opening up all over again. Currently in 1st with a 5th and 2nd, Kelly's no-show will allow a number of competitors to catch up. Adriano de Souza, currently in 2nd on the World Title Rankings and last year's Rio champ, has to be one of the favorites for the event. Expect fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina to shine here as well. Although he had a rough start, Medina (currently tied for 25th) is fresh off a win at the Nike Lowers Pro. Not to mention he was basically engineered for peaky beach breaks with onshore wind.
Taj Burrow and Mick Fanning are sitting pretty with a win apiece. A win here would rocket them up to 1st. But I'm most excited to see Owen Wright, John John Florence and Julian Wilson light up this event. A heat with any of these three will definitely be one to watch.
I haven't talked much about the women's contest, mostly because Steph Gilmore has all but cinched this year's title. With only three contests left, it'll be a miracle if Sally Fitzgibbons (her only real competition at this point) can muscle her way to the top. That being said, look for explosive performances from Carissa Moore who seems to be feeling a lot more free without the weight of World title expectations perched on those shoulders.
So here are the match-ups for the men's and women's contest.
BILLABONG RIO PRO ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Brett Simpson (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS), Tomas Hermes (BRA)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Yadin Nicol (AUS)
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 9: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Tiago Pires (BRA)
Heat 10: Mick Fanning (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA), Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 11: Michel Bourez (PYF), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 12: Jeremy Flores (FRA), John John Florence (HAW), Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
BILLABONG WOMEN’S RIO PRO ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Courtney Conlogue (USA), Lakey Peterson (USA), Sage Erickson (USA)Heat 2: Tyler Wright (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZL), Justine Dupont (FRA)
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Sarah Mason (NZL), Juliana Quint (BRA)
Heat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Rebecca Woods (AUS), Melanie Bartels (HAW)
Heat 5: Carissa Moore (HAW), Coco Ho (HAW), Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
Heat 6: Laura Enever (AUS), Malia Manuel (HAW), Pauline Ado (FRA)
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