FILE PHOTO: Surfing - World Surf League - Tahiti Pro - Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia - May 30, 2024 Brazil's Italo Ferreira in action during the final REUTERS/Thomas Bevilacqua/File Photo
(Reuters) - Italo Ferreira beat Yago Dora in an all-Brazilian final at the Vivo Rio Pro on Friday, while Californian surfing phenom Caitlin Simmers defended her Brazil title over good friend and tour rookie Sawyer Lindblad.
Waves at Saquarema Beach near Rio de Janeiro were substandard for much of the event but improved for finals day, giving opportunities for big turns and progressive aerials that drew cheers from a huge partisan crowd on the beach.
Victory lifted Ferreira to fourth in the world rankings with just one more event to go ahead of the World Surf League's Finals to decide a world champion.
It was an emotional first win at home for the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, who learnt to surf on a cooler lid his father used for selling fish.
“I’m emotional right now because I would love to win this comp for my dad, he’s one of my biggest inspirations in life,” Ferreira said. “We came from the bottom and then right now we’re on the top, so I just want to say thank you God for everything, my family, friends. I was dreaming for this moment right now. This is a special one.”
Competing in just her second year on the world tour, Simmers' win in Brazil was her fifth overall and third for 2024, giving the 18-year-old a solid lead in the world rankings.
She dominated the final, picking up a pair of seven-point-plus rides early and leaving Lindblad struggling to find a decent wave.
“I'm feeling really good right now. I surfed with my good friend that I have been surfing with since I was really young," said Simmers.
"Good job to Sawyer, she's one of the greatest surfers and she got me last time in Tahiti and that was probably the most painful loss I've ever had, so I'm definitely glad I got her. But we'll have a dance-off later, so that'll settle it."
Attention now turns to the Paris 2024 Games, with Simmers and other top surfers competing for Olympic medals in the perfect blue barrels of Teahupo'o in Tahiti.
The final stop on the world tour is in Fiji in August, before the top five men and women surfers battle for the world title at a one-day event in Southern California in September.
(Reporting by Lincoln Feast in Sydney; Editing by Diane Craft)
