BARBADOS’ top male surfer in the World Surf League Men’s Qualifying Series Josh Burke finished a commendable 25th overall at the Ichinomiya Chiba Open at Shida Point in Japan.
The 6000 event is the second highest ranking level WSL qualifying series on the tour and the 20-year-old Burke gave a solid performance against 144 qualified surfers.
Competing in the third round at the venue which will be the location for surfing during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Burke was in the second advancement position with four minutes to go in the 25-minute heat.
With only the top two moving forward to the next round, South African Slade Prestige needed 7.80 points while holding priority.
But he caught a low-scoring ride that didn’t factor into his score line and relinquished priority to Burke with just three minutes remaining.
Burke was getting ready to sit on Prestige, who was paddling back out from the low-scoring ride when a right-handed wave hit the sand bar nicely.
Prestige whipped around and took it on the inside, reeling down the line and getting a good slash off the top into a foam climb. He hit the close-out with a tail slide to get eight points and knocked Burke into an elimination third for an overall 25th place and 700 points towards his campaign.
Burke, who is a global ambassador for Billabong apparel and Reef footwear along with representing Rich Price Surfboards, Dakine, Nixon Watches, Vonzipper Eyewear, Futures Fins and Flawless Performance Centre, currently sits at 46th position on the international WSL rankings. (EZS/PR)
