On a day when Main Break at Margaret River was probably its mushiest of the entire event, Carissa Moore and Gabriel Medina dug deep into their respective wells of competitive knowledge to take 2023 Margaret River Pro titles.
For Medina, it was a serious return to form after 18 months marred by mental and physical ailments. But one of the best competitive minds in the history of the sport looks like he’s back, surgically taking down the competition. Like Griffin Colapinto in the final. The San Clemente native was able to take John John Florence out of his game in the semis, forcing Florence to uncharacteristically take less-than-stellar waves under priority with little scoring potential.
But in the final, the roles were reversed and Medina cut away at Colapinto. Medina logged two excellent scores, finding the lip line for beautiful vertical turns on a day it was really hard to find a wave that would stand up. He then sat on Colapinto, forcing the young regular footer to take Hail Mary shots at closeouts. Colapinto said his hip was hurting after so he’s lucky he didn’t come away with a serious injury.
Medina is the first goofyfooter to win at Margaret River since Barton Lynch in 1990. The Brazilian referenced just how good he felt after the heat, mentally and physically.
While the Medina-Colapinto final was a high-scoring affair, the women’s final was the opposite. The warble and bounce at Main Break seemed to cause all sorts of problems for Moore and Tyler Wright, another surfer who is making a big-time return to form. Wright looked incredibly sharp while taking out Caroline Marks in the semis, then couldn’t hook into a wave with any sort of wall in the final. Wright, needing just a 6.53, had a shot as the clock ticked down after Moore couldn’t convert on a wave. But after a couple of setup turns she uncharacteristically chattered out, unable to finish the wave. It was slightly anti-climatic, and Moore looked absolutely spent. But happy to nab her 27th tour win. It was Medina’s 19th CT triumph.
Despite the loss in the finals, Wright now dons the yellow jersey heading to the Surf Ranch Pro with Moore in second, followed by Molly Picklum, Caroline Marks, and Caity Simmers rounding out the top five. Joao Chianca holds onto yellow heading to California, with Filipe Toledo, Jack Robinson, Griffin Colapinto, and Ethan Ewing also in the top five. John John Florence and Medina lurk just behind at six and seven, which, despite criticism from fans regarding the cut, could make this a dream year for fans if Medina and Florence stay healthy and make their way into the final at Trestles.
On to Lemoore.
