World Champion Lisa Andersen and Australia's Shane Powell take individual victories.
Cabedelo, Figueira da Foz, Portugal (Oct 5, 1997) -- American Kelly Slater became the first surfer in the history of the sport to win five world titles. Slater accomplished this feat yesterday when Australia's Mark Occhilupo was eliminated in the quarter finals of the Expo 98 Figueira Pro by Australia's Shane Powell. Powell then defeated fellow countryman Richard Lovett in the semi finals, moved into the final heat and defeated American Rob Machado with a heat score of 31.60 to 31.15.
Occhilupo was the only one who could have mathematically stood in Slater's way, but the equation fell apart when he lost to Powell. During their heat Slater, who was eliminated from the contest earlier, sat quietly watching and keeping track of the scores in the sand.
"I had visions of Occhilupo winning this contest and making me hang in there all the way to Brazil and maybe even Hawai`i," Slater said. "He's been surfing so well these past few weeks and I've had a pretty bad run in these Portuguese contests, so it was starting to look totally impossible.
"But it's a relief. I'll be able to relax a little bit now," Slater continued. "There's still a few things I'd like to achieve before the season's over. I'd like to win in Brazil and I'd really like another win at Pipeline as well. I'm looking forward to trying out a few new surfboards and getting some good equipment together for Hawai`i."
The 1997 Coca-Cola/ASP World Championship Tour title is Slater's Fourth consecutive world title and puts him on equal footing with Australian Mark Richards and fellow Floridian Lisa Andersen.
Andersen was named 1997 women's champion last Friday after winning her quarter final heat against Australian Kim Wooldridge. Andersen's result made it mathematically impossible for any other woman to challenge her lead. Andersen is only the second surfer in history -- male or female -- to win four consecutive world titles and now shares the record which Australian Mark Richards has held for the past 15 years, since his Hawaiian victory in 1982.
Although Andersen took first place in the women's division ahead of Australian Layne Beachley, the semi finals were the highlight of the day's competition. Beachley and Andersen, both surfing the best heats of the tournament, contended with difficult high tide conditions. Andersen got away to a fast start in the 35 minute final and that made the difference in the end. Ten minutes into the heat the waves died down and the scoring potential for each surfer was almost halved. A slow start for Beachley left her far behind by the heat's conclusion. the final score was 25.75 for Andersen to Beachley's 18.90.
"I knew I had to get as many good waves as I could at the start of the heat because I'd seen that the conditions were changing," Andersen said. "It's made for a great week, but I'm not going to be relaxing from here. There are still two more events to go and I'll be aiming to get as cashed up as I can. I'm looking forward to going back to Rio next week and I'd really like to get a win in Hawai`i because I haven't had one there yet."
Powell, now sitting in second place on the world ratings, gave the Australian's the last word in a week otherwise dominated by Americans Slater and Andersen winning both the men's and women's world titles. At the halfway point of the 30 minute final, Powell was trailing Machado by more than 13 points. But the event took a dramatic turn when Powell stroked his way into the best wave of the heat, scoring 9.25 points which brought him back into contention.
"It's been an incredible European season for me," said Powell, who also won the Lacanau Pro in mid August and placed third a week later in the Hossegor Pro. "I think it's a good thing that I lost my sponsorship back in Easter because it gave me time to relax and focus back in on what I wanted to achieve in competition." Powell is looking forward to Brazil where he has won before. Machado moved into fifth in the world.
The Kaiser Summer Surf in Rio, Brazil, is scheduled for October 15 through 19 and will be the penultimate event in the 1997 Coca-Cola/ASP World Championship Tour. From there, the professional surfers move to Hawai`i and O`ahu's North Shore, where from November 12 through December 20, the final events of the 1997 season take place.
Back to Surf Home