MEO Surf League: Afonso Antunes and Teresa Bonvalot win the Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro

• Afonso wins the fourth stage of his career and “holds” his father’s record;
• Vasco Ribeiro was defeated in the final, but kept the leadership of the ranking;
• Bonvalot’s triumph secured rise to women’s number one;
• Teresa’s seventh victory in Porto and third consecutively;
• Carolina Mendes was the finalist won in the women’s event;

Afonso Antunes and Teresa Bonvalot won, this Monday, the triumph at Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro, the second of five stages of the MEO Surf 2022 League, the first division of national surfing.

If, in Afonso’s case, the victory helped the 18-year-old surfer climb the rankings in the fight for the national title, on the female side the triumph allowed Teresa Bonvalot to surpass national champion Kika Veselko in the ranking, thus wearing the yellow lycra Go Chill.

The action on the final day of the Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro resumed shortly after 8 am, on a public holiday on the 25th of April, with the men’s quarter-finals. In the first heat of the day, Eduardo Fernandes won a very tight dispute against Guilherme Fonseca, setting the tone for what would be the rest of the day. Then Vasco Ribeiro continued with his victorious walk, beating Tomás Fernandes. The balance was again a highlight in Guilherme Ribeiro’s triumph over Halley Batista, while in the last heat of the round Afonso Antunes was stronger than Luís Perloiro.

After that, the women’s semi-finals entered the water, where in the first heat Carolina Mendes got a score of 8.25 points to get the better of the national champion Kika Veselko. A result that left the leadership of the ranking in check. In the next heat, Teresa Bonvalot took the opportunity, after a duel in which she felt many difficulties against Carolina Santos, who came to lead the heat a few minutes from the end. However, Teresa managed to turn the heat around and keep the door open for the leadership of the female ranking.

In the men’s semi-finals, the balance was once again a highlight and the first spot for the final ended up smiling Vasco Ribeiro by just 0.10 points after Eduardo Fernandes had given an excellent reply. In the second heat, Afonso Antunes defeated fellow generation, Guilherme Ribeiro, at a time when the sea was starting to slow down, forcing a break in the competition.

The action only returned in the early afternoon, with the women’s final being marked by a balanced duel in which Carolina Mendes took the lead. However, in the second half of the heat, Teresa responded and guaranteed the comeback, stamping the triumph with 14.45 points, against only 11 for Carol. A decisive victory to put Teresa Bonvalot at the top of the national ranking.

Teresa thus confirmed the third consecutive victory in this stage, being the seventh time she has won in the waves of the North. In total, this is the 22nd victory in stages for the 22-year-old surfer, who made her debut in Porto. An excellent tonic for the departure to Australia, where from May she will start the fight for qualification for the World Surf League world circuit, where she will be joined by fellow countrymen Kika Veselko, Mafalda Lopes and Yolanda Hopkins.

“This is a stage that I am very fond of”, began by saying Teresa Bonvalot. “I have been coming here for many years and I love the people in Porto. It’s always three days very well spent and coming back here is always amazing. Leaving here with the victory, after three days of demanding conditions, turns out to be a great training for what’s to come. I’m confident about the Challenger Series circuit, which is about to begin. My goal is always to evolve and make the athlete that I am growing. I will do my best to get closer and closer to achieving my goals, which is to reach the world circuit and one day be a world champion,” she stressed.

On the men’s side, Vasco Ribeiro reached the final as the favourite, but Afonso Antunes spoiled his plans, thanks to a very strong start. The junior surfer managed to complete an aerial that earned him 7.50 points and then added a score of 7.75, confirming the score of 15.25 with which he ended the heat. Vasco still responded, but he couldn’t get more than 12.90 points. Despite the defeat, Vasco managed to maintain the leadership of the ranking.

This outcome ended up preventing Vasco Ribeiro from re-validating the title of the stage, but also from equaling the record of victories in stages of the national circuit (16), which belongs, precisely, to Afonso’s father, João Antunes. This was the fourth victory of his career for the young surfer, who in the next stage will compete in the wave in which he has triumphed the most times: Ribeira d’Ilhas (2020 and 2021).

“I knew that in the final I had to do something different because it was against Vasco Ribeiro”, shot Afonso Antunes. “As I don’t have as much surf power as Vasco, I knew I had to try the aerials more. I managed to hit them and a few more combinations, which made me happy to achieve this victory. My goal is the national title and that’s what I’ve been working towards. At the beginning of the year I let myself be affected a little by some things that were said about me that were not true, but I am learning with time, without pressure and focused on the main objective”, he stressed.

• Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro final results:
• Men’s final: Afonso Antunes 15.25 x Vasco Ribeiro 12.90
• Women’s final: Teresa Bonvalot 14.45 x Carolina Mendes 11.00
• Women’s Go Chill Expression Session: Carolina Mendes
• Men’s Go Chill Expression Session: João Moreira
• Joaquim Chaves Saúde Best Wave: Vasco Ribeiro, 9.25 points in round 1
• Bom Petisco Girls Score: Teresa Bonvalot, 14.45 points in the final

The action in the MEO Surf League returns in June, on the mythical beach of Ribeira d’Ilhas, for the Allianz Ericeira Pro, from the 10th to the 12th of June. Vasco Ribeiro and Teresa Bonvalot leave for Ericeira in the lead of the ranking and with the yellow lycra Go Chill, in what will be the third of five stages of the circuit.

On television, Joaquim Chaves Saúde Porto Pro can be watched live on Sport TV, as well as on other official media: MEO facebook, MEO app – available at position 810 of the MEO channel grid, and at www.ansurfistas. com and social networks at @ansurfistas.

The MEO Surf League 2022 is an organization of the National Association of Surfers and Fire!, sponsored by MEO, Joaquim Chaves Saúde, Allianz Seguros, Bom Petisco, Go Chill, Somersby, Corona and Rip Curl, sustainability partner Jerónimo Martins, local support from Porto City Council and Matosinhos City Council, and technical support from Onda Pura and the Portuguese Surfing Federation.

More information at www.ansurfistas.com.

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