It all comes down to this.  One event, one winner, one loser and one champion.  Mick “White Lightning” Fanning vs. Joel “Parko” Parkinson, they will battle it out at the Pipeline Masters this month, and one of them will be crowned the victor and one will win the world title.  Never have two compatriots been so close to winning the ASP world championship whilst still remaining on such good terms.  Fanning and Parko have surfed together for years and grew up surfing the same waves at Coolangatta, Australia; so it all comes down to who wants the title more?

Mick Fanning has already achieved the pinnacle of the surfing world, as he won the world championship title back in 2007.  Born in 1981 in Penrith, Australia he has been surfing since childhood and is completely obsessed in his pursuit of health, fitness and training for competitions.  Whatever he does it is certainly paying off as this year alone he has won 3 out of the 9 events held around the world. In September he won the Quiksilver Pro in Hossegor, on of our popular Surf Holiday destinations in France. He was on fire in Europe, taking the win at the Rip Curl Search in Peniche, one of our Portugal Surfing Holiday destinations.


Joel Parkinson has been on the world tour scene since 2001 and hasn't yet won the title, but he's hungry.  Born in Nambour, Australia also in 1981, Parko has also surfed since childhood.  Both Parko and Fanning were part of the local group of surfers known as the Coolangatta kids.  If things are seeming oddly equal between the two competitors, wait for the next detail... this year Parko has also won 3 of the 9 events.




The two incredible Aussie surfers are pretty much head to head in the ratings and it will be down the wire to see who will claim the title.  On the one hand Fanning has had to overcome a lot of adversity in his life, such as the death of his older brother Sean in 1998 from a car crash.  Fanning often talks about how inspired he has been by his brother's memory and love of surfing.  On the other hand Parko has been one of the most consistent surfers on the tour, he has finished in 4th place for 2007 and 2008, but that world tour win still eludes him.

So who the victor will be is still anyone's guess, but we're going for Parko to win Pipe, and Fanning to win the world title again. 

For a glimpse of the pros check out Fanning and Parko at the Quiksilver Pro Australia Competition 2009.  You can see how close it was as there is barely anything between them in style or points... both raising the bar in the semi-final.  However, it was Parko that found that extra bit of determination, scoring a perfect 10.  He went on to post a score of 19.93 out of a possible 20, winning the semi and then going on to win the whole event.  Fanning scored an impressive 17.66 against Parko, which would usually have seen him through to the final if he had been up against anyone else. 

Dip into the video at 43 sec...

Mick Fanning V Joel Parkinson - Quiksilver Pro 09 Semi Final from Geoff A Charters on Vimeo.