Nat Young Finishes Runner-Up at The 2013 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach


  • 04.16.2021

Nat Young (USA), 22, earned the best result of his budding career with a second place finish at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach on his T-Low.

Image Credit: © ASP/SCHOLTZ

BELLS BEACH, Victoria/AUS (Tuesday, April 2, 2013) – Santa Cruz’s Nat Young, 22, finished runner-up to Brazilian Veteran Adriano de Souza, 26, at the 2013 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, marking a career best result for the ASP WCT Rookie.

Young put on the top performance of his rookie class in the challenging righthand pointbreak which saw classic conditions ignite the Bells Beach lineup throughout the waiting period. The goofy-footer was stellar throughout the entirety of the Rip Curl Pro, seamlessly linking backhand combinations on his way to the final, but was unable to surpass De Souza, earning his 2nd place finish.

“It was a huge event for me,” Young said. “Just to be in the field is a dream for me. I’ve looked up to the surfers in this event my whole life. The event has such a history behind it and I was honestly just excited to be here. Making the Final, I don’t even have words for it. Of course I wanted to win it. I want to ring the bell as much as anyone else on tour. Don’t get to it this year, but a Runner-Up finish is a big result for me and I’ll take that into the next one.”

Young’s efforts at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach were nothing short of impressive, besting Australians Julian Wilson (AUS), 24, Josh Kerr (AUS), 28, injury replacement surfer Willian Cardoso (BRA), 27, and Taj Burrow (AUS), 34, while marching to his second place finish.

“At first, I was happy to make a couple of heats and to be in the final is amazing,” Young said after his Semifinals win over Burrow. “Every heat on this tour is hard. Now, going out there I’m just surfing and doing what I can do. I just went out there and got a good score. It’s amazing.”

While several newcomers to Bells Beach struggle to find a rhythm in the lineup, Young looked at home in the Victorian waters reminiscent of his Santa Cruz home.

“There were lot of waves and thought it was going to be smaller,” Young said. “It’s actually bigger and it was fun to be out there and catching all of the waves you want. Bells is as close to home as any event we have on tour. It’s a cold, right point. I’ve been out every morning at dark, surfing and getting used to the waves every day and it’s paying off.”

Young’s 2nd place finish launches him to No. 5 on the ASP WCT Rankings entering the upcoming Billabong Rio Pro.

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com

Nat Young’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Results:
Final: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.26 def. Nat Young (USA) 15.83
Semifinals: Nat Young (USA) 15.10 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.43
Quarterfinals: Nat Young (USA) 17.27 def. Willian Cardoso (BRA) 14.83
Round 5: Nat Young (USA) 15.50 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.13
Round 3: Nat Young (USA) 15.50 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.13
Round 1: Nat Young (USA) 16.43, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.90, Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.20

  • 04.16.2021