Afonso Antunes goes ahead at Caparica Surf Fest on a stormy day – Surf

The Portuguese Afonso Antunes qualified this Wednesday for the round of 32 of the World Surf League (WSL) qualifying circuit test in Costa de Caparica, while Francisco Queimado was removed on a day marked by the Nélson depression.

With stormy conditions on Paraíso beach, marked by large, energetic waves, lots of rain and strong, unfavorable winds, the organizers decided to only hold the last four heats of the ’64 round, with Afonso Antunes coming into action in the 14th. heat.

The 20-year-old athlete managed to score 11.80 points (out of 20 possible) in the two best waves (5.97 and 5.83), getting the better of Basque Yago Dominguez (10.97), Frenchman Erwan Blouin (7 .74) and the Israeli Siam Nikritin (7.10), and advanced to the next stage of the race.

Worse luck had his compatriot Francisco Queimado, who was in third place in the next heat (15th), with 8.07 points (5.00 and 3.07), behind the Frenchman Justin Brecet (11.77) and the Moroccan Teva Bouchgua (9.40), and only surpassed the Israeli Ido Arkin (4.83), who, like the Portuguese surfer, said goodbye to the competition.

As the terrible weather conditions will continue or even worsen during Thursday, the organization has already ruled out that the race will continue that day, scheduling the next call for Friday, at 6:30 am.

After two days of action, the Portuguese fleet continues with 14 of the 28 registered Portuguese surfers, exactly half of the initial contingent.

In the women’s category, eight of 13 Portuguese surfers remain in the competition, namely Maria Salgado, Teresa Bonvalot, Ana Escudeiro, Mafalda Lopes, Francisca Veselko, Yolanda Hopkins, who is trying to renew the title of European champion, Maria Dias and Carolina Mendes.

For their part, Afonso Antunes, João Mendonça, Joaquim Chaves, Francisco Ordonhas, Martim Fortes and Guilherme Ribeiro are the survivors of the 15 Portuguese entrants in the men’s event.

The Caparica Surf Fest, which started on Tuesday, is the last stage of the WSL regional qualifying circuit and runs until Saturday, at Praia do Paraíso, in Almada, Setúbal.