(Reuters) – Yago Dora stomped a giant, full rotation aerial in the final as he scored a perfect 10 to win his first world tour surf event at home in Brazil on Saturday, flying into contention for the end of season final five to decide a world champion.
American rookie Caitlin Simmers scored her second world tour win on the women’s side, the 17-year-old committing to big manoeuvres on her backhand to beat Australia’s Tyler Wright in the final in front of thousands of fans who packed the beach.
“Tyler is really good and the ocean was kind of on my side that one,” the Californian phenom said. “This is probably the craziest moment of my life. Looking in from out there in the water and just seeing everything and everyone on the beach. You can’t even see a spot of sand. It’s crazy.”
Plagued by poor conditions for most of the week, the waves at Saquarema, a beach town about 100 km east of Rio de Janeiro, improved on finals day, with overhead and mostly clean if unpredictable sets.
Dora had been racking up the top scores throughout the contest and took down Hawaii’s John John Florence in the semi-final, before his perfect 10 point ride gave him the win over Australia’s Ethan Ewing.
“This week was something special, best week of my life I’m going to say. Even on the flat days, it was so much fun,” Dora said.
“I just had a feeling something special was going to happen and it did. It took a long time but that first win came at the right time and the right place, so I’m beyond happy.”
The wins move Dora and Simmers into fifth place in the world rankings. The top five men and women at the end of the 10-stop world tour qualify for the end-of-season, one-day Finals event at Lower Trestles in Southern California in September.
The tour now heads to the fabled right-hand point break of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa before culminating in Tahiti’s Teahupo’o.
Surfers are also vying for spots at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be held in the heaving tubes of Teahupo’o.
(Reporting by Lincoln Feast in Sydney; Editing by Ken Ferris)
