Surfer Filipe Toledo won his second consecutive world title on Saturday in Trestles (California), becoming the first Brazilian to achieve this performance and confirming the South American country’s control over this Olympic discipline.
Toledo, 28, dismissed Australian Ethan Ewing without trembling in the final of the World Surf League (WSL), two rounds to nothing. The Brazilian entered this final as the big favorite after finishing first in the general classification for the season.
“It’s hard to find the words. There have been so many sacrifices. Seven years ago, I had my first child and I haven’t been home much (to participate in competitions, Editor’s note). But I knew it would pay off in the long run. It’s a dream come true,” explained the surfer to the organizers’ microphone.
Highly renowned for his aerial maneuvers on small waves, Toledo is the only Brazilian to have won two world crowns in a row, but his title has consolidated his country’s hegemony on the elite men’s circuit.
After Gabriel Medina (2018, 2021) and Italo Ferreira (2019), the Brazilian armada has been at the top of surfing for five years now – the 2020 season having been canceled due to the pandemic -.
“A big congratulations to Filipe Toledo. There is a different pressure when you are expected and he knew how to manage the situation like the champion he is”, commented on his social networks the American legend Kelly Slater, eleven times world champion.
Her young compatriot, the Californian Caroline Marks took advantage of her ease on the Trestles spot to deprive the Hawaiian Carissa Moore, number one at the end of the regular season, of a new title.
Marks, long heralded as the new queen of surfing, won her first title in front of her home crowd at just 21 years old.