Durban – Daniel Emslie from the Eastern Cape is the only South African surfer left in the main events of the ISA Junior World Championship in El Salvador.
Emslie faced off against fellow countryman Luke Thompson, of Durban, in the fourth round of heats and claimed the top spot, scoring 13.75.
Thompson was just short of a few points to make it to the next round, after Spanish surfer Kai Oriozola finished the heat with 0.15 points more than him. Thompson can still make the final event if he does well in the under-18 repechage round.
Emslie has dominated the boys under-18 in every heat since the start of the competition and has shown experience to claim the number one spot in heats 1 – 4.
In his first three heats, Emslie scored 15.10, 12.94 and 15.75.
Emslie will face off against Australian Kobi Clements, Hawaiian Shion Crawford and Israeli surfer Uriel Uzriel.
The fifth main round of the boys U18 will feature two heats, with eight surfers remaining in the competition.
IOL contacted team manager Reza de Nicker in El Salvador who was unable to get a comment from the surfers because they were off to their respective events.
De Nicker said he would interview the team on behalf of IOL about their experience in the competition. | IOL