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Finals day of the Shiseido Tahiti pro, the last stop of the tour before the Trestles top-five showdown. The shallow-water setting not only played host to the the drama of determining the all important final five positions, but also presented opportunities to qualify for next year’s Olympics at the same, fabled Teahupo’o break.
The first two quarterfinals produced mixed results for the Australians. Tyler Wright just outpointed Tatiana Weston Webb in the first, while Steph Gilmore’s hopes of repeating last year’s fairy tale of winning from the back of the pack were dashed when she couldn’t find a decent barrel against Caroline Marks. Steph’s heat went down in difficult conditions before the sun came out and the waves cleaned up.
After Carissa lost a close one to local Vahine Fierro in quarterfinal three the only thing we could be certain of was that Caitlin Simmers had claimed the 5th slot for Trestles. Carissa, Tyler, Molly Picklum and Caroline Marks would make up the other four spots, but the all-important order in which they finished was still to be determined.
With 3 minutes 14 seconds left, eternally affable teenager Caitlin Simmers needed just a 2.54 against Molly Picklum. Caity completed a good, first turn but couldn’t finish the second. The judges gave her a 2.6, JUST enough, leaving Molly requiring a meager 1.27 to snatch an all-important victory. With the seconds ticking down, Molly’s last gasp wave ran away from her, denying her the small turn she needed for victory. It means she will face Simmers again on finals day as Molly claims number four, with Caroline Marks at number three.
So the second quarterfinal loomed as make or break for both Jack Robinson and Yago Dora – good friends and travelling companions who share Yago’s dad as a coach. Jack went in with only an outside chance of final five qualification. By the time Dora could break Jack’s modest 12.93 combination, there was only 3 and half minutes left in the heat. Needing an 8.93 for the win, as the heat was counted down on the loudspeaker, Yago came flying out of a deep barrel and flung a giant air over shallow reef. Had he made it, the judges would almost certainly have given him the score. It was almost a repeat of his last gasp heroics again Kelly in the round of 16.
An extra incentive for Dora was locking in the second Brazilian Olympic qualification. Cementing an Olympic spot with Filipe would only have taken another heat win for Yago, with Joao Chianca ahead of him on the ratings and Medina breathing down his neck. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Tokyo Gold Medal winner Italo Ferreira was not even in the picture.
Dora’s loss locked in fourth spot for Chianca and after Hawaiian Baron Mamiya wasn’t pushed too much by frustrated local Mihimana Braye the battle of the titans hit the water. John John versus Medina in the ‘Superheat” to the death (well.. At least to the death of the other’s world title chances). The start of the heat highlighted a key difference in both surfers’ personalities.
John allowed Gabriel to have the inside and as such an 8.33 ride that contributed to a combination within eight minutes. As Medina went into overdrive, manufacturing long barrels from mediocre waves, it seemed he had totally psyched out John. Perhaps John needed more size and power to flex his skills but as Medina got busy, John never even looked like being in it. Meanwhile, Medina looked invincible and claimed a grudge match he probably values as much as a contest win.
Going into the women’s semis all that remained at play was which of Carissa or Tyler would finish first or second for the all important Rip Curl WSL Finals day. Tyler missed a golden opportunity to clinch first place for the year when all she needed to do was beat Caroline Marks in semi number one, but she couldn’t find a back up wave high enough and hence the final 5 positions were all locked in. All that remained was to crown the Chopes champ, and when Simmers got past Vahine Ferrio in the other semi, by packing her diminutive frame into the heart of a beast for a 9.23, the scene was set for two young Californian charges to duke it out. Ultimately the supremely confident Marks was too good and claimed her win her second event of the year.
When Jack ended Leo’s slim, final five hopes in the first semi, Yago Dora was bumped out of the top five, and when Gabriel saw off Baron Mamiya in the other semi a mouth watering Jack versus Gabe final was set up, the winner taking not just the 2023 Tahiti pro but a chance to keep their world title hopes alive with a guaranteed top five spot. Australians, perhaps in need after something to celebrate after watching the Matildas bow out of Football World Cup contention, had something to cheer about when Robinson took down the seemingly unstoppable Medina in a see-sawing battle that saw Medina in a commanding position with a 15 point combo’ total before Jack had even posted a score.
Jack finished the year the same way he started it with his win at Pipe. His majestic command of backhand barrel riding bodes well for Australia’s chances of a first surfing gold medal, as the 2024 French Olympics will be held at the famed Teahupo’o. For now we turn our attention to Trestles where the men and women will rumble on the cobblestones to determine the world champion, on September 8. Toledo is surely a favourite to make it consecutive world titles, while the smart money is on Carissa to claim her sixth title and inch closer to the record of eight world titles, set by Steph last year.
Final 5 Men & Women
1. Filipe Toledo 1. Carissa Moore
2. Griffin Colapinto 2. Tyler Wright
3. Ethan Ewing * 3. Caroline Marks.
4. Joao Chianca 4. Molly Picklum
5. Jack Robinson 5. Caity Simmers
Finals Day Results
Men’s Final
Jack Robinson – 15.66
Gabriel Medina – 15.00
Women’s Final
Caroline Marks – 9.23
Caity Simmers – 3.94
Men’s Semi Final
Heat 1
Jack Robinson – 15.83
Leonardo Fioravanti – 8.84
Heat 2
Gabriel Medina – 13.33
Barron Mamiya – 5.17
Women’s Semi Final
Heat 1
Caroline Marks – 11.66
Tyler Wright – 9.80
Heat 2
Caity Simmers – 15.73
Vahine Fierro – 12.34
Men’s Quarter Final
Heat 1
Leonardo Fioravanti – 15.10
Kauli Vaast – 11.70
Heat 2
Jack Robinson – 12.93
Yago Dora – 11.10
Heat 3
Barron Mamiya – 11.43
Mahimana Braye – 2.53
Heat 4
Gabriel Medina – 16.10
John John Florence – 10.10
Women’s Quarter Final
Heat 1
Tyler Wright – 12.50
Tatiana Weston-Webb – 12.26
Heat 2
Caroline Marks – 8.50
Steph Gilmore – 2.93
Heat 3
Vahine Fierro – 8.83
Carissa Moore – 9.00
Heat 4
Caity Simmers – 6.60
Molly Picklum – 6.53
