Surfing Archives - Page 36 of 208

Gilmore and Colapinto Victorious

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Griffin Colapinto (USA) won the Surf City El Salvador Pro Presented by Corona, Stop No. 7 on the World Surf League (WSL) 2022 Championship Tour (CT). The competition finished the Semifinals and Finals in three-to-five foot waves at the famed right-hand pointbreak called Punta Roca, also known as La Punta or Punta Chilama. With their victories today, Gilmore and Colaptinto both move into the WSL Final 5 on the road to the Rip Curl WSL Finals. Seven-time World Champion Gilmore’s win marks her 33rd CT victory, breaking her own record for most women’s CT wins.

Gilmore Makes History Again, Breaks Her Own Record With 33rd CT Win

To capture her 33rd CT victory, Gilmore defeated Lakey Peterson (USA) in the Final, Caroline Marks (USA) in the Semifinals, and Isabella Nichols (AUS) in the Quarterfinals. The seven-time World Champion showcased incredible surfing throughout the event and capitalized on her affinity for right-hand point breaks. Gilmore now moves up to the WSL Final 5 in third place from seventh, putting her campaign for her eighth World Title back on track.

“Muchas gracias, El Salvador, this is amazing,” said Gilmore. “Once I got past Caroline (Marks), I was super confident and I knew I could do it. Lakey (Peterson) is an amazing surfer, so I knew it was going to be a tough Final but it doesn’t get any better. I love doing this. I love winning, I love doing this sport. We get to travel and surf fun waves. That’s pura vida. I would love to win another World Title but it’s a long road. There’s a lot more competition to be surfed and a lot of hard work to do, but this is just an amazing experience and I’m so happy to be here.”

In the Final, Gilmore’s patience proved the difference to best Peterson. The Final was slow to start, but Peterson got the first score of substance with a 6.67 (out of a possible 10). Gilmore then posted a 7.33 inside the ten-minute mark. Only needing to beat Peterson’s 4.00 backup score, Gilmore locked in a 5.67 in the dying minutes of the Final to take the win.

Lakey Peterson Breaks into WSL Final 5 on the Road to the Rip Curl WSL Finals

Peterson moves up one place from sixth to fifth with her runner-up finish and is only 1,280 points below Brisa Hennessy (CRI). The American has come close to winning the World Title multiple times in her career but had to withdraw for a majority of the season in 2021 due to a back injury. This is the first year that Peterson has been in the newly formatted World Title race with the one-day Rip Curl WSL Finals, and she will hope to close in on the WSL Final 5.

“It’s been amazing, thank you to everyone for letting us surf your wave,” said Peterson. “El Salvador is a beautiful country. I’ve really loved exploring, surfing, meeting all the people, and the culture is really incredible here. It feels great to get back on the podium and get some momentum again. I love right-hand pointbreaks, so I was really happy to be here, and to share it with Steph (Gilmore) is always so special. I want to win a World Title and I love Lowers. I’m going to do everything in my power to get there and give it a good crack. There’s a lot of hard work (to be done) and this is a step in the right direction for me.”

Colapinto Rises to Toledo’s Near-Perfection for Second-Career CT Victory
Griffin Colapinto (USA) has solidified the best year of his professional surfing career with a second win on the CT in 2022. Colapinto was a standout in the three days of competition and his prominence came to a crescendo in the dying minutes of the heat to overcome World No. 1 Filipe Toledo in the Final.

“It’s so crazy,” said Colapinto. “I was so baffled we were tied. I was just thinking it can’t end this way, I have to figure it out and comeback performances are what I dream of so if I’m in that position I just love it. Filipe (Toledo) and I have had some bouts, he got me at G-Land so I’m psyched to get him back here but he’s been surfing so good. On that 9.57 I just thought that’s Filipe doing his typical stuff. This Final feels better than Portugal so I’m just soaking it in.”

The men’s Final lit up Punta Roca from start to finish with a toe-to-toe battle between Colapinto and Toledo. Toledo applied pressure right out of the gates with a near-perfect 9.57 (out of a possible 10) before Colapinto responded in commanding form to earn a 9.00 of his own. The battle of the backup scores then unfolded as Toledo garnered a solid 6.43 while Colapinto answered back again with a 7.00 to make it a tie, with the edge going to Toledo for his higher single-wave score. But, with three minutes remaining, Colapinto found a gem under priority and threw everything into it to earn an excellent 8.00 and his second-career CT victory.

Colaptino has his heart set on the Rip Curl WSL Finals in his hometown of San Clemente, where he just missed out by one place last year. Now with this victory, the 23-year-old vaults to World No. 3 ahead of the Oi Rio Pro in Saquerema, Brazil.

Toledo Retains Top Spot on World Rankings
Despite the loss the Colaptino, Toledo will retain the yellow jersey and top spot on the World Rankings heading into the next event in his home country of Brazil. As a three-time winner of the Oi Rio Pro, he will enter as the favorite and the Brazilian fans will undoubtedly be cheering him on throughout the competition.

“Thank you for all the support and love here,” said Toledo. “I feel great. I feel humbled to be in the position I’m in. It’s been quite a fun year and it feels nice to go back to Brazil and recharge my batteries, and try to win again. There’s a lot of work to do but so far so good. I’m stoked, so blessed to be here and thanks to my family, happy birthday mom, and thank you to my team for supporting me.”

For highlights from the Surf City El Salvador Pro Presented by Corona, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

Surf City El Salvador Pro Women’s Final Results:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.00
2 – Lakey Peterson (USA) 10.67

Surf City El Salvador Pro Men’s Final Results:
1 – Griffin Colapinto (USA) 17.00
2 -Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.00

Surf City El Salvador Pro Women’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.70 DEF. Johanne Defay (FRA) 9.67
HEAT 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.50 DEF. Caroline Marks (USA) 9.84

Surf City El Salvador Pro Men’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 13.30 DEF. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.17
HEAT 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 17.10 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.20

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

Mentawai Moments

In July 2021 I went to Indonesia to the Mentawai surf camp in the playgrounds area with Dylan Lightfoot to score incredible waves with almost no crowds due to travel restrictions at the time! armed with the GoPro Max, some camera mounts and the DJI Air 2s Drone, this is what we captured along with some behind the scenes! Enjoy! – Chris Rogers

De La Tierra

Solid Surf is bringing the goods to local crews worldwide. Helping support surf communities who have global conservation priorities. Instead of flying a team to infiltrate lineups – trying to give back everywhere they go.

Raw NSW Monsters

Giant swell and perfect barrels, sit back and enjoy the carnage, this break in NSW doesn’t fire like this often, but when it does. Hells bells, it’s a whole different level, witness the sickness.

Welsh Adaptive Surfing Championships

Grabbing a surfboard and riding the waves was the key to recovery for Llywelyn Williams after he lost his leg in an accident.

Now the 26-year-old hopes to encourage more people of all abilities to give the sport a try, by organising the Welsh Adaptive Surfing Championships in July. The event at Adventure Parc Snowdonia in Conwy promises plenty of thrills, spills and excitement, with competitors travelling from as far away as Hawaii, South Africa and California to take part.

The man-made lagoon on the former aluminium site in Dolgarrog became the world’s first inland venue to host an adaptive surfing championship event in 2019. After a break during the pandemic, adaptive surf athletes around the globe are keen to see it return to North Wales.

The surfers will compete in nine different categories catering for a range of different abilities. “Adventure Parc is the perfect venue for this competition” explained Llywelyn. “It has fantastic man-made waves that are consistent and reliable and it offers some great facilities for the athletes and the spectators, including good food and wheelchair-friendly accommodation pods.” Admission is free to watch the event and Llywelyn is hoping visitors will take advantage of the great views offered around the lagoon to get a closer look at the sport.

Llywelyn’s passion for the sport began when he started surfing at the age of 12 at Porth Ceiriad and Porth Neigwl, near his home in Abersoch. He showed promise and competed locally, but a few years later a road accident almost scuppered his dreams of surfing professionally. While skateboarding home, he was hit by a car and suffered life-threatening injuries, including dislocating both hips, a head injury, broken femur, shattered pelvis, punctured lung, perforated bowel and a split liver.

Llywelyn spent several weeks at The Royal Liverpool Hospital where he was put into an induced coma. Doctors desperately tried to save his leg but, two weeks after the accident, Llywelyn’s family were told that the limb had become severely infected and would have to be amputated to save his life. Against staggering odds, Llywelyn overcame his injuries. He accepted the loss of his leg but rejected the idea of losing hope. Due to his tenacious spirit, he was back in the water less than a year after the accident.

“My mates carried me down the stairs,” Llywelyn recalled. “I had a body board and they would chuck me into the waves. I still had my old wetsuit then – with both legs – so one was flopping around in the water. “As the first wave hit me and I came back up, I felt alive again and I felt ‘wow! This is magical’. Surfing is the best. “When I’m in the water on my surfboard, nothing else matters. It is a fantastic sport for people of all abilities.” Llywelyn discovered adaptive surfing and began competing again, this time in the kneeling category, winning gold at the English Adaptive Championships in 2018 and more recently representing Wales at the International Surfing Association World Adaptive Championships in California. It was while competing there that he flew the flag for Adventure Parc Snowdonia as a suitable venue and sparked more interest in the surfing scene in Wales.

He is now busy organising what he hopes will be an inspiring and thrilling competition in at the adventure complex on July 1-2. The main sponsor for the event is The Mailing Room, a Bury-based family company with an interest in adaptive surfing. AmpSurf, an organisation set up to inspire and rehabilitate people with disabilities, and Llywelyn’s family company, Hopalong Clothing, are also supporting the event. Each of the surfers taking part in this year’s championships have overcome significant personal challenges to compete at such a high level.

“Interest in adaptive surfing has grown so much,” added Llywelyn. “When I first entered the world championships in 2015, there were just 60 entries. Now it’s closer to 100 and the standard is so high.” Adaptive surfing will feature in the 2028 Paralympics for the first time July’s championship will include a number of hopeful contenders, including Llywelyn.

Adventure Parc Snowdonia managing director Andy Ainscough said: “Llywelyn is a great bloke and an even better athlete, his courage and determination to come back from what he has is admirable. “On the biggest days at the beaches near Abersoch, Llywelyn is going for the biggest and scariest waves out there. He is a brilliant ambassador for the sport of surfing.

“We are really pleased to have the Adaptive Championship back on the Parc after the recent pandemic stopped it for two years and it’s set to be a fantastic event for the competitors and spectators alike.”

MORE EVENT INFO HERE