Outdated views of their sport frustrate professional surfers who will be out to showcase their talent on the biggest stage – if the conditions allow it
At the prestigious Billabong Pipeline Masters in 2019, the final event of the last completed World Surf League Championship Tour (CT) season, Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina emerged in the final to duel each other for the world title. It was a significant event. Paddling into the sparkling, clear waters of Oahu, Hawaii, the two most prominent Brazilian surfers of the moment faced off for the biggest prize in the sport, a reflection of both the present and possible future of surfing. Once a sport dominated by Americans and Australians in turn, Brazil has usurped both as the focal point of the men’s field today.
As the competition began, it demonstrated one of the most underrated and fascinating aspects of competitive surfing. Medina, a two-time world champion, is renowned for his mental fortitude but 10 seconds into the contest, Medina tentatively backed out of the first wave as Ferreira swept forward and seized it for himself. He thundered down the side of the wave, smoothly turning at the bottom before emerging triumphant at its end. The crowd down on the beach cheered. The tone was set. Ferreira had immediately asserted himself and in the ensuing 39 minutes, an unsettled Medina was unable to perform well enough to deny him a first world title.
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