Well, it’s over. The first year of the revamped World Surf League Finals day is done and dusted, and Carissa Moore and Gabriel Medina were successful in their quests for more world titles.
It was a good day. Successful by nearly any measure. The waves were pumping at Lower Trestles — far better than we’ve seen at an event there in a long, long time — and the new format worked. Both Moore and Medina were ranked number one in the world going into the day, and both emerged victorious. On the men’s side, the final match up seemed to be one of two choices: Filipe vs. Gabby or Italo vs. Gabby. As it turned out, it was the former.
Filipe Toledo moved to San Clemente specifically for the wave at Lowers. It suits his surfing just about as perfect as a wave can suit a person’s surfing. His aerial proficiency combined with Lowers’ skatepark-like ramps makes it a match made in surfing heaven, so one can be sure that Gabriel Medina wasn’t taking the heats lightly. Although Medina came into the event with a head of steam unlike any other year — he was nearly 12,000 points ahead of the rest of the group — he knew that Filipe Toledo couldn’t be counted out. The battle was a fiery one. The surfing was an example of just how good tour surfers can get. And in the end it was Medina who won out. The heat is worth a watch, just in case you missed it. And worth a rewatch, even if you didn’t.
