“I heard this saying, when the fire’s burning, throw an extra log on it, so it burns twice as strong,” said a smiling Griffin Colapinto from atop the podium at the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal.
“So, the fire’s burning extra strong now,” he added.
In a monumental day for local surfing, Colapinto took the win at the third Championship Tour event of the season in Peniche, Portugal, while younger brother, Crosby, earned an impressive third-place result and has now entered the Rookie of the Year discussions. The victory puts Griffin at the top of the WSL Leaderboard with the No 1 ranking, while Crosby has climbed up to No. 10 in the world. The top five surfers at the end of the regular season will qualify for the WSL Finals and have a shot at the 2024 World Championship at Lower Trestles.
On opposite sides of the draw, there was the potential for the brothers to meet in the final, but it was not to be. Losing in the semifinals to Ewing, the younger Colapinto now sits ranked 10th in the world—making them the highest-ranked brotherly duo on tour in a long, long time.
“Watching Crosby surf his heats, I was so invested in what he was doing, I felt like I was surfing twice as many heats, because I was watching him so closely,” Griffin added. “I had a hip surgery in the offseason, and it took me almost three months to get back in the water. I put so much effort in, and I thought it would pay off right away, but in Hawaii, I got two ninths. Sometimes, you just have to trust it; now I have a win, so I’m psyched.”
On the women’s side, it was France’s Johanne Defay taking the win over Australia’s Tyler Wright. In a hard-fought final, Defay’s local knowledge and powerful backhand attack proved to be the difference-maker. For the effort, Defay climbs four spots on the leaderboard to No. 2 and is now just 1,000 points behind Aussie Molly Picklum.
The Championship Tour now heads to Australia for events at Bells Beach and Margaret River. The stakes will be especially high, as they will be the last two stops before the dreaded mid-year cut.
Jake Howard is a local surfer and freelance writer who lives in San Clemente. A former editor at Surfer magazine, The Surfer’s Journal and ESPN, today he writes for several publications, including Picket Fence Media, Surfline and the World Surf League. He also works with philanthropic organizations such as the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center and the Positive Vibe Warriors Foundation.