Brazilian right at home at Pipeline
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
There is nothing a good day of bodyboarding can't cure.
Bernie Baker photo
At least not for Brazil's Guilherme Tamega, who won the Mike Stewart International Pipeline Pro and, subsequently, his fifth world championship yesterday.
Brazil's Guilherme Tamega relied on 13 years of experience at the Banzai Pipeline to win the Mike Stewart International Pipeline Pro yesterday.
"I feel marvelous," Tamega said moments after his victory. "I like new things. I like to make history."
He did just that by winning the inaugural "Super Tour" of the Global Organization of Bodyboarders. Only the top 32 bodyboarders from around the world were invited to compete on the Super Tour, and the Pipeline Pro served as the final contest for the 2001-02 season.
"I was waiting for this fifth title for so long," said Tamega, 29, who last won in 1998. "That was my biggest goal."
Now, only legendary bodyboarder Mike Stewart has more world titles, with nine.
At the start of yesterday's competition, Tamega didn't figure on achieving anything.
"I didn't have any spark in the beginning of the day," he said. "I thought it was going to be over in my first heat of the day. I totally lost my motivation."
Part of it was because of the conditions. On Tuesday, waves were in the 8- to 12-foot range at Pipeline. It got considerably smaller yesterday, and blustery winds were causing the waves to slam shut faster than normal.
Tamega said he "barely made it" through his first heat of the day, but it provided the adrenaline boost he needed the rest of the way.
"I started feeling how good bodyboarding is," he said. "That changed me the rest of the day."
He went on to dominate his quarterfinal, semifinal and final heats.
In the four-man final, Tamega was a wave magnet, attracting the best sets of the 30-minute heat. He said his experience at Pipeline played a key role.
"This is my 13th time in Hawai'i; I surf Pipe so many times," Tamega said. "If you have 13 years' experience, put it on the table."
Tamega's only other Pipeline Pro title came in 1994, but he was competing in the final for the fourth time in five years yesterday.
His three opponents — Australians Ben Player and Ryan Hardy, and Portugal's Rui Ferreira — were first-time finalists.
Showing them how it's done, Tamega seemed to be in the proper position to catch the best waves throughout the final, and then completed several acrobatic aerial maneuvers on those waves.
His top three rides scored a total of 20.1 points (out of 30), which was more than enough to earn the $2,000 first-place check. Player was second with 16.7, Hardy third with 15.6,and Ferreira fourth at 9.4.
"I wanted to wait for the good (waves)," Player said. "And I ended up waiting and waiting. I saw (Tamega) getting all the other waves, but I didn't want to break my strategy. It just didn't work out."
Jeff Hubbard of Kaua'i tied for fifth, and was the top Hawai'i finisher. His brother, David, won the drop-knee division, and $800.
Stewart, the event sponsor and 11-time former Pipeline Pro champ, was eliminated in the fourth round.
Final results
1, Guilherme Tamega (Brazil), $2,000. 2, Ben Player (Australia), $1,400. 3, Ryan Hardy (Australia), $900. 4, Rui Ferreira (Portugal), $500. 5 (tie), Jeff Hubbard (Hawai'i) and Andrew Lester (Australia), $400. 7 (tie), Paulo Barcellos (Brazil) and Naoshi Grady (Hawai'i), $300. 9 (tie), Mitch Rawlins (Australia), Nicolas Capdeville (France), Alistair Taylor (South Africa) and David Winchester (Australia), $250. 13 (tie), Joe Jordanoff (Australia), Toby Player (Australia), Graham Miller (Australia) and Alberto Colucci (Venezuela), $200.
Drop-knee division
1, David Hubbard (Hawai'i), $800. 2, Kainoa McGee (Hawai'i), $400. 3, Thomas Richard (Reunion Island), $300. 4, Kyle Maligro (Hawai'i), $200.
