Apparently, Mick Fanning rarely gets rattled.
The world’s top-ranked surfer, who went unscathed during a shark attack in the summer, found out Wednesday morning that his brother, Peter Fanning, died suddenly in his sleep overnight at home in Australia at age 43. Somehow, Fanning summoned up enough courage to go out and win his third- and fourth-round heats in the season-ending Billabong Pipe Masters at Ehukai Beach.
Five surfers, including Fanning, went into the day with a shot at the World Surf League tour title, and two — Australia’s Julian Wilson and Brazil’s Filipe Toledo got bounced. Now, only two Brazilians – Adriano de Souza and defending world champion Gabriel Medina — can keep Fanning from a fourth world championship.
It certainly won’t be easy for Fanning. In today’s quarterfinals, he will face 11-time world champion Kelly Slater, who last week said he was pulling for Fanning to win the world title. Slater, however, doesn’t plan on going down easy.
“Mick never ceases to amaze me,” Slater, 43, said, referring to the tragedy after topping Hawaii’s Keanu Asing in the fifth round to get into the quarters. Then, when asked by a reporter who he will be cheering for in today’s matchup, Slater said, “I’ll be cheering for me. There is no pressure on me. I want to win that heat. I am not here to lay down for anyone.”
Slater added that if he does beat Fanning today, his next goal will be to take down Medina — and thus helping Fanning’s quest — in the semifinals if Medina gets past Florida’s C.J. Hobgood in another quarterfinals matchup.
Slater gave Fanning all he had in a fourth-round, nonelimination showdown Wednesday that also included Hawaii’s John John Florence. It caused murmurs of “super heat” up and down the beach. All three got seriously shacked with high-scoring rides, but it was Fanning who prevailed and made it to the quarters with a 17.30 heat score to Slater’s 16.47 and Florence’s 15.16.
Slater said he thought he had “snagged” that heat on his final ride at Backdoor that included a huge air-drop takeoff, but it came up just short.
For Fanning, the whole thing was surreal.
“I can’t really put it into words,” Fanning said. “When you’re paddling out against John John and Kelly, two of the greatest tube riders, I just thought that when the waves come, I’ll do my best. It’s been a huge day. I’ve got some personal stuff going on at home. It’s so heavy to talk about right now and I’m just trying to focus on the water.”
Earlier, Fanning, 34, easily fended off a third-round challenge from Hawaii’s Jamie O’Brien, who is considered a Pipeline specialist.
Medina and de Souza advanced to the quarters with fourth-round victories, keeping their shot at a world title alive.
Florence’s chance at a first Pipe Masters title ended in the fifth round in a loss to Hobgood.
Hawaii’s last hope in the Pipe Masters is Mason Ho, who had a perfect 10.00 ride to win his fourth-round heat and push on to the quarters.
Ho said he may have gotten away with one because he fell onto his belly on his board while in the tube before emerging upright.
“Don’t tell the judges because they may change the score,” the 27-year-old Ho said before someone from the bleachers threw him a can of beer that he immediately put in the pocket of his boardshorts.
A Pipe Masters final victory by either Fanning or de Souza today would clinch the world crown, but both could win it in other scenarios. The only way Medina can claim the world title is by winning the Pipe Masters combined with Fanning losing in the quarters.
The world champion, the Pipe Masters winner and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing titlist will be determined today. The contest resumes with the continuation of the fifth round at 8 a.m., followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
Medina, Fanning and Australia’s Josh Kerr are the only surfers left in the race for the Triple Crown, which goes to the best surfer in the three WSL season-ending North Shore events combined — the Hawaiian Pro at Alii Beach Park (won by Wade Carmichael), the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach (won by Fanning), and the Pipe Masters.
