INTERNATIONAL NEWS - When Frederico Morais, age 14, was pressed by a surf magazine on who is the toughest guy to surf against in contests he replied, "Me."
Skip forward 10 years, and if asked the same question, Morais could, legitimately, answer the same way. In a remarkable Hawaiian leg, the Portuguese surfer known as Kikas added another second place at the Vans World Cup of Surfing to his runner-up finish at the Hawaiian Pro.
In the process, he rocketed from 38th to third on the QS, cemented a shock qualification for the Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (CT) and took a commanding lead in the Vans Triple Crown ratings.
"It's an incredible feeling, to both qualify for the CT and to make back-to-back finals in Hawaii," Morais said afterwards. "This has been my dream for as long as I can remember."
Back in August, while he was nowhere near the qualifying mark, Morais hadn't given up on that dream. "I think until it ends it's always a reality. I knew I would have a good chance in Hawaii, and after a good result in Brazil it became even more possible. Then I just had to surf."
While that optimism is one of Morais' most charming traits, anyone who examined his situation heading into Hawaii still would have figured that he had little-to-no hope of qualifying.
Sure, he had achieved solid results in Hawaii before, including a fourth place at Sunset in 2013 and becoming the Triple Crown Rookie of the Year that same season. But to make two Finals in 2016, given the depth of talent there and the power of the waves, was both exceptional and unexpected.
