SUPERTUBOS, Peniche/Portugal (Friday, October 19, 2012) – Julian Wilson (AUS), 23, has claimed his maiden ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) victory today, besting a rampaging Gabriel Medina (BRA), 18, in the dying seconds of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal.

Stop No. 8 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Portugal played host to pivotal moments in the hunt for the 2012 ASP World Title as well as today’s dramatic culmination between two rising superstars.

In a replay of the surfers’ Final match-up from France last season, Medina and Wilson went blow-for-blow in today’s Final in front of a capacity crowd at Supertubos. While Medina favored a more technical approach to the heat, executing a number of progressive maneuvers, it was Wilson’s barrel sense and combination ability that ultimately tipped the heat in the final moments.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Wilson said. “I lost to Gabriel (Medina) on the buzzer last year in France and to beat him back again on the buzzer, I don’t even know how to describe the feeling. He was trying to hold onto the lead in the end there, he pretty much did what I did in the Final last year in France. He was too busy worrying about me, and that wave came in the dying moments and that was the scorer. I don’t know what to say, I’m just so happy.”

Wilson’s final wave, a multi-section barrel followed by a number of turns, came in at an 8.43 and gave the Australian the edge with no time left on the clock. Both surfers arrived to the shoreline without knowing who had won the Final. Photo: joliphotos.com