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Despite the warnings of fictional weather scientists, the World Surf League heads right into the heart of a Brazilian storm for event no.8 of the Championship Tour. With its throng of screaming spectators, peripheral beach sports, and flamboyant atmosphere, the Rio Pro is one of pro surfing’s biggest spectacles. The fans are known to be the most passionate in surfing and pose an intimidating prospect for any surfer who does not have them on side.
The main contest site at Saquarema is a challenging beach break that has historically hosted over 20,000 fans on Finals Day. Intense crowds on the beach often inspire heightened performances in the water; we usually see a crazy air or a random tube in the unpredictable washing machine. In recent years we have also been witnessing the most dominant run at a Championship Tour (CT) contest in recent times, with Filipe Toledo’s three consecutive victories at his home event. Will the 2022 world champ make it a four-peat as he hunts down the world no.1 spot? The event window kicks off tonight at 8 pm AEST and will run to July 1st.
We called up 1993 world champ and three-time Rio Pro winner, Pauline Menczer for her predictions and qualified thoughts around this year’s comp.
Tracks : How was your overall experience in Brazil looking back on it.
Pauline: I had a really good time. I loved the way that people were; the crowd was really awesome. Yeah they do yell a bit louder for the Brazilians. But I just found that really awesome still and I just loved the different culture. They’re all high-powered crazy haha.
Why do you think Brazil was such a successful spot for yourself? You know, winning three times there?
For me, I think it was just the beach break. And it was quite hard to find the right wave. So growing up in Bondi and spending a lot of time there. And then surfing in Brazil, it definitely helped.
How was it staying there, was it intense or has it kind of been exaggerated in the media?
It’s a little bit scary, because at the time, we still had security, like in front of the hotels and stuff. Yeah and we had security at the contest. So there’d be like, security guys running us down and running us back. I was a bit nervous because before I went there, they were talking about at one point there were some people shooting like darts with poisoning or something. I don’t know if it was lead poisoning, but I just heard about darts.
Forecast
The WSL’s unfortunate run this year of missing swells just before or after the event window looks to continue in Brazil. Waves were firing all along the Brazilian coast last week with pros such as Joao Chianca making the most out of the excellent conditions.
However, it’s not completely gloomy, as waves look quite promising at stages throughout the event window. Day one of the event window is expected to be clean and fun with the leftovers of a previous SSE swell. Following this, it’s forecasted to go into a flat spell until around Tuesday, when a solid SSW swell is expected. This could provide opportunities up until the end of the waiting period.
Less than 24 hours away! Tune in for the first call of the @vivobr #RioPro pres. by @corona at 7 am BRT. @surfline pic.twitter.com/nX9atnFTEB
— World Surf League (@wsl) June 22, 2023
Who does Rio favour?
Pauline:
Men
I’d probably say Filipe. Yep, because you know he’s the previous winner, he’s just so fine-tuned at the moment. And he’s got the backing there. It just suits him down to the ground that wave, bloody hell some of the airs he was doing were just incredible.
Women
I’d probably say for the women, probably Carissa. I always say Carissa, because she really is a machine. And if she loses like when she lost the other day, like it seem there’s something else going on.
Never count out @rissmoore10!
— World Surf League (@wsl) June 20, 2023
Watch her return to Saquarema at the Vivo #RioPro, Jun 23-Jul 1 on https://t.co/ie0ZfMWjFw. @corona pic.twitter.com/SnRCTzfhPI
Tracks
Men
Toledo is the guy to beat as he goes for a historical four-peat. But Italo and Joao Chianca have a good chance to disrupt the dominant run. Joao had a secret weapon in his warm-up with NBA superstar Jimmy Butler seen supporting the Brazillian in the lead-up to the event.Â
Women
I’m calling for Tatiana to break her drought at the Rio Pro this year as she strives to keep her spot in the top five. But, I could also see fellow goofy-footer Caroline Marks continuing her winning run after her impressive victory at El Salvador.
Surprises?
Pauline
Men
Well he’s not coming from behind but I think Ethan is just surfing so perfect. Yeah, it’s just amazing. It’s like flawless. And every time he loses it’s just because he doesn’t get a wave, most of the time it’s not because he gets out-surfed. I reckon he’s almost like a Mick Fanning and Andy Irons mixed together.
Women
I’m hoping Silvana Lima will really battle it through because she’s an amazing surfer. She needs to work on her wave selection. She’s the wildcard. She’s still ripping, she’s like one of the oldest surfers now and she was just coming through when I was leaving. But I follow her on Instagram and I just think she’s such a talented surfer and having the home crowd advantage. More than likely she’s probably there already training, so yeah, I think she’ll come from behind maybe.
Tracks
Men
Samuel Pupo may be the strongest wildcard to have a chance at winning a Championship Tour event in a long time. The Mid Year Cut victim is a legit contender with his surfing skills. Don’t forget he was a runner-up last year after landing some monstrous airs such as this backhand cloud-tickler. (clip below)
Jack Robbo will be fired up, as it was announced that he and his wife, Julia Muniz, are expecting their first child. Nothing bigger for inspiration than father time.
R-Call’s well-rounded and dynamic approach could be dangerous too.
Women
I’m gonna go with Caity Simmers. The high-performance manoeuvres she can pull off will give her an advantage in the likely close-out conditions.
Match-up’s we wanna see?
Pauline
In the men probably Griffin and Ethan. And in the women, I just love Catiy Simmers’ surfing but she’s so hit and miss, but I do like watching her new style. Probably her and Carissa.
Tracks
Ewing v Medina, given the recent controversy they were embroiled in at the wave pool, would produce fireworks at Saquarema. And a showdown between Steph Gilmore and Tatiana Weston-Webb, who are both tied at no.5 on the rankings. Who wants to be at Trestles more?
Injuries/ Wildcards
There has been no official announcement for injuries in the event. However, Kelly Slater shared on his Instagram this week that he was dealing with an unknown health condition throughout the El Salvador comp. The 51 -year-old wrote about the symptoms on Instagram.
“When my sickness started the other day. On day 5 of being sick now. Fevers, sinus, chills, headache, stomach flu, etc. Glad I made it home amidst the onslaught.”
But as of right now, Kelly’s still named in his Opening Round heat against Filipe Toledo and Callum Robson.
Only two wildcards were given out in this event. For the men, the highest-ranked Brazilian in the challenger series, Samuel Pupo, was rewarded one. In the women pro-surfing veteran, Silvana Lima, will also be lining up against the world’s best at her home-break.
Opening Round Match-Up’s
Men
Heat 1: Ethan Ewing, Caio Ibelli, Rio Waida
Heat 2: Joao Chianca, Matthew McGillivray, Seth Moniz
Heat 3: Filipe Toledo, Callum Robson, Kelly Slater
Heat 4: Griffin Colapinto, Liam O’Brien, Samuel Pupo
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina, Yago Dora, Ian Gentil
Heat 6: Jack Robinson, Ryan Callinan, Barron Mamiya
Heat 7: John Florence, Connor O’Leary, Jordy Smith
Heat 8: Italo Ferreira, Leo Fioravanti, Kanoa Igarashi
Women
Heat 1: Molly Picklum, Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriela Bryan
Heat 2: Carissa Moore, Lakey Peterson, Silvana Lima
Heat 3: Tyler Wright, Caitlin Simmers, Johanne Defay
