In an epic finale to the season, longtime Dragon athlete Mick Fanning clinched his third ASP World Championship in pumping, 10- to 12-foot at the Billabong Pipeline Masters.
On the final, nail-biting day of the final event of season, Mick Fanning was faced with an uncertain path to the 2013 World Title: he’d automatically take home the title if he made it past the quarterfinals, otherwise reigning World Champ Kelly Slater would have to lose the event in order for Mick to win the title. But Mick sealed the deal on his own terms, leaving nothing to fate. In the final moments of his quarterfinal heat Mick pulled into a perfect Pipe set wave, earning a 9.7 and ultimately taking home the 2013 world title.
“I’m just overwhelmed with emotion right now,” Mick said after his quarterfinal heat. “It was a fun year. I just really wanted to enjoy my time on Tour. A couple years ago I wasn’t really enjoying it, and I got to the end of that year and decided I just really wanted to soak in my time on Tour and just breathe, appreciating what we have and how lucky we are, and that’s what this year was.”
Mick went on to place third overall in the event, wrapping up yet another stellar year on Tour. Mick’s consistently been among the Top 10 on the ASP World Tour since qualifying in 2002, taking home world titles in 2007 and 2009. Fanning’s 2013 season was one of his most consistent years on Tour, and included a Quiksilver Pro France victory, a runner-up finish in Fiji, and semifinal finishes at Teahupoo, Snapper, Rio de Janeiro, and Pipeline.
To celebrate Mick’s third world title, Dragon will release a short run of limited-edition three-time World Champ Mansfield sunglasses, which you can win by following Dragon on Facebook and Instagram. All week long we’ll give away two pairs of Mansfield sunglasses everyday to the first person to correctly answer a Mick trivia question on Facebook and Instagram. You think you know your stuff? Follow facebook.com/dragonsouthpacific or @DragonAusNZ for your chance to win.
