Pilurzu’s Photo Was Featured on the ASP Website after a Strong Opening Performance.

After holding on through the round of 96 competitors in the Srilankan Airlines Pro tournament, a part of the World Qualifying Series (WQS) that finishes this weekend in the Maldives, Tamarindo native Federico Pilurzu fell just short of competitors Hank Gaskell from Hawaii and Jay Thompson from Australia, ending his impressive show at the event.

Pilurzu pushed ahead in the previous round of 144 competitors, taking first place in his heat, and earning the second highest score of the day just behind the German surfer Marlon Lipke. Thanks to such a hard fought performance, he gained 750 points for his WQS 2008 ranking. Previous to this event he was holding strong as the 57th best surfer in the world. The new rankings will be released after the close of the event.

Pilurzu recently gained sponsorship from SoBe’s Adrenalin Rush beverage brand after jumping 32 spots in the WQS ranking after his performance in Trestles, California. The Costa Rican surfer’s goal is to finish in the top 20 by the end of the year.

The Srilankan Airlines Pro event represents the 16th event in the WQS 2008, with 200 of the best surfers in the world coming together to compete for the top spot. A total of $135,000 in prizes will be given to the winners and up to 3000 points are available to the top surfers.

Pilurzu is the only Costa Rican and Central American surfer that is a consistent participant in the WQS, which is organized by the Association for Surfing Professionals (ASP). He was the 2001 National Surf Champion of Costa Rica and the Central American Surf Champion in 2006 and 2007. He is often unable to compete in Costa Rica surfing events and other regional competitions because of the WQS’s demanding schedule.

Photo courtesy of the ASP.

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Filed under: Surf on June 12th, 2008