Australian surfing ace Owen Wright (Lennox Head, NSW) will get a crack at the world’s premier pro junior specialty event after taking out the ASP grade 5 Oakley Pro Junior in tricky 3-4ft beach break waves on North Stradbroke Island today.
Wright, 19, made certain he qualified for the prestigious Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge, recording a two-wave combined total of 17.75 (out of a possible 20) to outgun Brazilian Jadson Andre in a see-sawing, man-on-man final at Main Beach, Point Lookout.
An excited Wright said he was stoked to gain selection.
“I’ve seen the footage of last year’s challenge and it looked unreal,” said Wright, who netted $7000 and 3000 rating points for his win.
“It’s really sunk in that I’m going. That event is where it’s at. I just dug deep and did it.”
Wright, who won the opening event of the 2009 ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series at Burleigh Heads last month, pulled out some big moves across the final day of competition, disposing of Coolangatta’s Jack Freestone in the quarters, Ulladulla’s Sam Wrench in the semis before dispatching of Andre in the decider.
“The win means a lot to me,” he said.
“I’ve got two wins under my belt now, so I can just relax into the next few events and just nail it.”
The lanky goofy foot rose to the challenge set by Andre, coming from behind to steal victory with a near perfect 9.5 in the final 10-minutes of the highly-anticipated clash.
Despite a last minute wave challenge by Andre, Wright held on for a narrow victory.
Final scores: Wright 17.75 def Andre 17.20
Wright said he was pleased to snare victory after a nervous start to the event.
