"I don't even know where I am," said a soaking wet Coco Ho after being carried up the beach. The 18-year-old tour rookie had a look of disbelief after defeating Chelsea Hedges, the last in a slew of big names, in the inaugural women's Rip Curl Pro Search event at Belgas in Portugal. "Chelsea and I were out there talking towards the end of the Final and she was like, 'You did it!'" Coco said as she began to grasp what she'd just accomplished. "I was just thinking, 'No, this isn't real.'"
Yesterday, Coco got the better of fellow rookie Paige Hareb and Rosy Hodge in Round One, and this morning she continued to build on that momentum to the end. In Round Three, she narrowly beat Amee Donohoe, someone who's got a decade of competitive surfing experience on Coco. And she only picked up the pace from there.
In the Quarters, the young Hawaiian drew former ASP World Champ, Sofia Mulanovich, and made quick work of her, posting a 15.06 total that made Sofia's 9.16 combined score look meager. But Coco knows that sometimes a surfer will burn off all her steam too early in the contest and have nothing left for the next round. "I was a little worried after the Quarters with Sofia," said Coco. "I had the eight and the six and I was scared I would overdo it. But after the Quarters, the conditions got good -- a little bit slow -- but good. I just tried to be patient because everyone was ripping and whoever gets the better waves is going to win."
Her tactic paid off when she met with Silvana Lima in the Semis. Obviously, Silvana was on a roll coming into this event because she'd just won the last two at Bells and Dee Why. And with her ratings rival, Steph Gilmore, going down in the Quarters, Silvana knew it was the perfect opportunity to make another run for the Final -- this time without Steph hovering over her every move.
Unfortunately for the Brazilian, a 4.83 and 3.83 were all she could muster when confronted with Coco. And the kid earned a spot in the Final. "After the Semi with Silvana, my dad was jumping up and down," said Coco. "I got into surfing when I was seven and the World Tour has always been on my mind and I'm finally here -- rookie year. Everyone was telling me, 'You better win one your first year,' and I was like, 'Are you nuts?'"
Even though she never expected herself to pull it off, Coco finally had her chance to do what her friends and family always believed she could. The Final pitted her up against Chelsea, another former World Champ. And this time she was even more patient than before and earned even higher scores than any of her earlier heats. Coco looked so calm as she picked off a 7.50 and 8.33, like she was just surfing one of her local breaks back on Oahu. "I can thank Rocky's Lefts," she said. "It's been super fun all season long and I've just been trying to up myself next to my brother out there."
With three events remaining, Coco now sits in third place on the ratings, exactly where Surfline's Power Rankings placed her just days before this event. By not making the Final, Silvana is still stuck in that second place slot and Steph's still holding down the lead but only by about 150 points.
The next stop is the Movistar Peru Classic presented by Rip Curl and if Coco wants to keep up with Steph and Silvana's game of tag, she'll need another showing like today's. But then it's off to Sunset Beach, a place that sits right outside the backyard she's called home her entire life. Things are just starting to get interesting. |
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