For those of you who were watching the third round of the Oi Rio Pro, you might remember Filipe Toledo getting an interference call during his heat with Kanoa Igarashi. The aftermath of that interference just got the high-flying Brazilian kicked out of the next event, the Outerknown Fiji Pro.
In the run-up to the Oi Rio Pro, Toledo was considered a favorite to win, or at least place in the top three. Unfortunately for him, he let his temper get the best of him after a paddle battle early in the heat. “When heats start, neither surfer has priority, so old-school paddle battle rules apply,” wrote the WSL. “The surfer with inside position has the right-of-way. Kanoa and Filipe were both interested in the same wave at the start of the heat, and they both raced to their feet to establish priority, but Kanoa got down the face faster, forcing Filipe to hang back. But not before Filipe was called for a paddling interference, a penalty that halved his second-highest scoring ride from a 5.67 to a 2.84.”
After the heat was over and Igarashi had secured the win, Toledo was pissed. He tried to rush the judging tower, which is a serious no-no–especially considering he was in the wrong, and the judges called it by the book. The violation earned him a fine and a suspension heading into the Fiji event. Toledo, of course, has apologized for his actions in a WSL press release.
