Facing patchy and inconsistent swells for her second-round heat at the Oi Rio Pro on Monday, Kiwi surfer Paige Hareb had to make a decision.
She paddled out and made the call to position herself to the left. Her opponent, American Caroline Marks, sat well off to the right. Through
the day's earlier heats, there had been no clear bank where the waves were forming – so positioning was a judgement call.
The decision to sit to the left cost Hareb the heat.
The Kiwi sat dormant in the line-up for over half of the 35-minute heat while down the other end of the beach, Marks was teeing off.
With under 15 minutes remaining and only a 0.30 to her name, Hareb moved toward Marks and began to get to work. Scoring a 4.83 put her back within touching distance, but she wasn't able to catch the young American.
