Crosby Colapinto and Sawyer Lindblad are the WSL’s 2024 Rookies of The Year. Photos: WSL
The World Surf League has named Sawyer Lindblad and Crosby Colapinto the 2024 Rookies of the Year. The awards were the result of the pair finishing the Championship Tour season as the highest ranked among the 2024 Rookie class.
Sawyer Lindblad’s rookie season has seen consistent results, with three ninth-place finishes and a Quarterfinal appearance at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Her first CT final took place at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, and soon after she would reappear in a final heat at the Rio Pro. For her efforts, Lindblad finished eighth overall in the 2024 Championship Tour season.
“It’s super cool to be Rookie of the Year and join surfers including Carissa and Steph on that list. I had a goal of being Rookie of the Year this year and I’m so happy I was able to accomplish it,” said Lindblad in a WSL press release. “Some challenges I faced this year was having to surf waves like Pipe and Teahupo’o. I’ve never surfed waves like that in my life and it was a really fun challenge and also really intimidating at times. But, I was happy to get past those fears and get some of the best waves of my life.”
Crosby Colapinto’s 2023 season got off to a rip-roaring start when he defeated Gabriel Medina at the Pipe Pro. After that, he banked a third-place finish in Portugal and a ninth-place at Bells that allowed him to sneak past the mid-season cut. From there, he secured a series of solid ninth-place finishes and a fifth place in El Salvador. In the end, Colapinto wrapped up the season in tenth place.
“It’s insane and such a big accomplishment because there are so many incredible surfers on the list of Rookie of the Year and to join that is really special,” said Colapinto. “Being in a rookie class this year that was strong with Cole, Kade, Eli and Jacob Willcox and getting to be on top is really cool. I think one of the biggest highlights was Portugal just because the Mid-season Cut was coming up, pressure was on, and I made it to the Semifinals. Griffin was in the other Semifinal and he made it to the Final. It got really close to us having a man-on-man Final. It didn’t happen, but just the idea of being so close, getting a big result and Griffin winning was really special.”
