In a back and forth heat at Barra de la Cruz against France’s Michel Bourez, Gabriel Medina needed to perform. As current World Number 1, he’d already clinched his spot in the WSL Finals at Lower Trestles, but had plenty of work to do to secure the top seed, a massive advantage given the new finals format. Enter a buzzer-beating rodeo flip.
As the clock ticked down in Medina’s Round of 32 heat against Bourez, and with Bourez scoring barrels and putting on a power-surfing clinic, it looked like Medina wasn’t going to clinch. That means he would have to hope that World Number 2 Felipe Toledo didn’t manage a fifth place finish in Mexico or better. But with 50 seconds to go, a wave appeared – not a good one by any stretch of the imagination – but Medina took that mediocre wave and turned it into pure gold. Press play above to see the replay. The broadcast from Barra de la Cruz is live at WorldSurfLeague.com.
At Trestles this September the top five men and women will compete in classic surf competition format – with a twist. The first heat will see the number five and number four ranked surfers compete in a traditional head-to-head heat. The winner of that heat will go head-to-head with the number three ranked surfer, the winner of that heat will go head-to-head with the number two ranked surfer, and the winner of that heat will move on to a best-of-three-heats title match against the World Number 1. The winner of that will of course become the undisputed 2021 World Champion.
So being the top-ranked surfer going into Trestles means a lot. You get to sit back on your throne, watch the others duke it out, and then put the smack down on whoever makes it to the top of the pile, a position that seems to fit Gabriel Medina’s vibe to a tee.
