Gabriel Medina Wins Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco Over Slater, Parkinson

In what’s now the running joke, it will be about four years until Gabriel Medina can legally take a sip of the champagne that was sprayed on him by runner-up Australian Joel Parkinson after he won the history-making Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco. 

On stop number 10 of 11 on the men’s Association of Surfing Professionals world title race, the young Brazilian surfing phenom, still in braces and barely out of high school, took down some of the world’s best surfers on Monday, including 11-time world champion Kelly Slater, to claim the $75,000 1st-place check. 

Rip Curl Officials made the 8a.m. call Monday in perfect three to five-foot clean surf. The weather couldn’t have cooperated more. Starting off a little chilly but quickly warming up by the afternoon, winds stayed relatively calm most of the day. 

“We’ve got clean offshore conditions this (Monday) morning and expect the surf to improve as the tide drops this morning,” Richie Porta, ASP International head judge, said. “We’ll pick back up with round 5 today and could possibly crown the Rip Curl Pro champion by day’s end.”

After being shut down by Kelly Slater the day before, Medina’s run on the final day of competition was nothing short of amazing. He took the day’s highest heat total of 17.33 out of 20 while defeating freshly crowned 11-time ASP world champion Kelly Slater, 39, and Taylor Knox, 40, before topping the “Stylish Australian” Joel Parkinson in the final.

“I feel good and confident and I’m really happy,” Medina said after his semifinals heat wins. “It was hard with Taylor (Knox) and Kelly (Slater) and I’m just stoked. That was a tough heat and I knew it’d be hard. I just got my last wave and it saved me. Conditions are kind of fun, it’s cold, but it’s really fun and I just tried my best.” 

San Francisco has a very proud, large group of Brazilian ex-pats who were in attendance. After his victory over Slater and then Parkinson the Brazilian contingent was going nuts. They carried Medina off the beach to the podium yelling and cheering his name and waving the Brazilian flag.

“It was a great day for Surfing in San Francisco and a great day for Brazil”, yelled one of the Brazilian fans in the crowd.

Quickly winning over the S.F. crowd and not much for words, he gave most of his victory speech in Portuguese and a “You Too” to the rest of the crowd. After competing in just four WCT events he now has two victories under his belt. No small feet for such a young inexperienced surfer. 

The surf on Ocean Beach stayed consistent all day and between the semi-final and final rounds they were able to run a locals’ expression session that included some of Ocean Beach’s best local surfers. Ryan Seelbach, Alex Martins, Lance Harriman and a host of the Bay Area’s finest all competed for a $1,000 check and a new GoPro camera.

The next and final stop on the 2011 ASP World Tour will be the Billabong Pipe Masters (Hawaii), which unfolds from Dec. 8 through 20, 2011.