Filipe Toledo fulfills Medina’s prophecy and becomes world surfing champion

At the end of the 2021 World Surfing Championship final, champion Gabriel Medina glued his face to that of runner-up Filipe Toledo and warned: “Your time will come”.

Has arrived.

Toledo, 27, is the new world champion. The Brazilian returned to the decision this year and confirmed the dominance established throughout the season. The decisive heats were played against the also Brazilian Italo Ferreira, 28, in a best of three format, in the waves of Lower Trestles, in San Clemente, in the United States.

A resident of San Clemente, the São Paulo native from Ubatuba showed a good knowledge of the Californian sea. In the first leg of the dispute, he got good waves to the right, including one with a score of 7.50 and another with a score of 7.63, with a total of 15.13. Italo responded with an 8.00 and thought he had the comeback in the end, but took a 6.97 for a total of 14.97 and punched the water in frustration.

In the second 35-minute dispute, Filipe maintained his good flow to the right, with strong and well-controlled maneuvers, achieving an 8.67 and a 7.83, totaling 16.50. Ferreira tried to respond with his great aerial game, getting an 8.60 to the left. Its second highest rating was a 6.33 for a total of 14.93.

“I don’t know, I don’t know”, said the new champion, who burst into tears in the water, trying to explain his feeling. “It’s something I’ve never felt before, obviously. I think it’s a relief. It’s been nine years of sacrificing a lot, it’s hard to leave your kids behind. The world title was one of the most important goals, but seeing God’s work through my family is the best.”

Fourth Brazilian to take the title, Filipe joins three-time champion Medina (2014, 2018 and 2021), Adriano de Souza (2015) and Italo himself (2019), also an Olympic champion in 2021. country in men’s surfing, a movement called “Brazilian Storm”.

From 2014 to now, the “Brazilian storm” just didn’t make the champion in the 2016/2017 biennium, with the triumph of the Hawaiian John John Florence – in 2020, the championship was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, it’s Toledo’s turn, which has had a bumpy trajectory until he finds peace with himself and the trophy he’s been looking for so much.

Son of surfer Ricardo Toledo, who marked his presence in the sport’s elite between the 80s and 90s, Filipe soon proved to be quite talented and was in the fight for the world title for the first time in 2015. After that, he had moments of fury with judges – which got him a suspension – and he faced a picture of depression, something he talks about openly.

“I went through really difficult times, 2019 was a very complicated year for me, psychologically, emotionally. And I realized that talking about the situation with someone, a professional, is fundamental. going back to a bad, sad, depressive behavior. Today, I know how to manage that and get over this situation”, he said, in an interview with Sheetin July.

By then, he had already established a large lead in the 2022 standings and had just won the Rio de Janeiro stage for the fourth time. “Easy,” as he has repeatedly put it, said he was at the “best moment” of his life, giving his wife, Ananda, 28, much credit: “If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Close to his children –Mahina, 5, and Koa, 4– whenever possible, he minimized one of the triggers of depression, the distance from the family on trips that the circuit requires. And he observed a direct relationship between his own smile and the scores given by the judges, the very ones he had aimed his fury at.

“We see by the results. I noticed that it is when I am comfortable that the results appear. It is being well with myself, first of all”, he explained. “I’ve been quiet and very comfortable.”

Comfortable, at home, close to the whole family, Filipe reached the final stage of the world league in first place – and with his father, wife and children on the beach. This allowed him to wait in the final while Kanoa Igarashi, Italo Ferreira, Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson vied for the right to challenge him for the title.

Italo, who was fourth in the rankings, initially knocked out Igarashi, in a rematch of the Tokyo Olympic final. Then it passed Ewing and Robinson. But he could not resist the one who had built the best campaign throughout the season.

Last year, it was Medina who was in that position, in the lead, confirmed in the triumph over Toledo. Absent from much of the 2022 World Cup precisely to pay attention to his mental health, Gabriel praised the talent of the then runner-up, bet on him in this season’s Finals and declared his fans shamelessly.

So Philip fulfilled his friend’s prophecy.

Tatiana falls in the premiere, and Gilmore is eighth champion

Third in the ranking, Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb, 26, debuted against fifth, Australian Stephanie Gilmore, 34, who had beaten fourth, Costa Rican Brisa Hennessy, 22. She got good waves, but ended up losing by 15 .30 to 14.87 in the sum of the two best scores.

At the very end of the heat, the gaúcha needed a 7.30 to leave her rival behind. He found a high wave to the right, executed three solid tricks, kept his balance and celebrated what he saw as his ticket to the semifinals. She earned a 6.87.

“I’m very happy with how I surfed. I was sure I got the score. It was a big wave, I did big tricks, and the judges didn’t think what I thought, which happens all the time in our sport. But no one will take from me what I did,” he said.

The experienced Gilmore went ahead and also knocked out the second in the standings, the French Johanne Defay, 28. In the best-of-three final with the leader of the ranking, the five-time champion Carissa Moore, 30, from Hawaii, won 2-0.

It was the Australian’s eighth title. She left behind Australian Layne Beachley, seven between 1998 and 2006, becoming the most winning woman in surfing history.

Check out all the Finals results:

male key

Italo Ferreira (BRA-4) 13.37 x 11.83 Kanoa Igarashi (JAP-5)
Ethan Ewing (AUS-3) 11.83 x 13.10 Italo Ferreira (BRA-4)
Jack Robinson (AUS-2) 13.30 x 16.10 Italo Ferreira (BRA-4)
–
Filipe Toledo (BRA-1) 15.13 x 14.97 Italo Ferreira (BRA-4) – 1 x 0
Filipe Toledo (BRA-1) 16.50 x 14.93 Italo Ferreira (BRA-4) – 2 x 0

female key

Breeze Henessy (CRC-4) 14.33 x 14.76 Stephanie Gilmore (AUS-5)
Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA-3) 14.87 x 15.30 Stephanie Gilmore (AUS-5)
Johanne Defay (FRA-2) 10.53 x 16.83 Stephanie Gilmore (AUS-5)
–
Carissa Moore (HAV-1) 10.90 x 15.00 Stephanie Gilmore (AUS-5) – 0 x 1
Carissa Moore (HAV-1) 11.97 x 15.23 Stephanie Gilmore (AUS-5) – 0 x 2