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Oct 22, 2018
On the Final Day of the 2018 Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal, Gabriel Medina had the chance to clinch his second World Title.
Coming in to the event Gabriel knew that in order for the World Title to be won in Portugal, he would have to win the event. And not only that, but his rivals Felipe Toledo and Julian Wilson would have to go down early – if Felipe made it out of Rd 3, or if Julian made the semi-final, the race would continue to Pipeline.
It seemed that a lot of things would have to go Gabriel’s way… and it wasn’t all up to him. It was a long shot.When Felipe lost his Rd 3 heat, probabilities increased… but not by much. And then, as the world’s eyes were glued on Finals Day, Julian Wilson lost his quarterfinal heat to Frenchman Joan Duru. Suddenly, things got very real. Gabriel could win the 2018 World Title in Portugal… on that very same day. He just had to win the event.In the end, Gabriel went down to Italo Ferreira in the semifinals, but his performance on the day showed the world – and his competitors – that he is ready for the 2018 World Title, and he’s coming after it.
As 3x World Champion Mick Fanning so aptly said… win or lose in Portugal, Gabriel has put himself in a very good position to come out on top.See you in Hawaii. #VaiMedina