John John Florence is three-time world surfing champion – 09/20/2024 – Na Pinta do Surfe
The WSL Finals took place at Trestles in California with John John Florence winning his third world title.
The Hawaiian’s opponent was the tireless and fierce Ítalo Ferreira. The Brazilian began his battle by first defeating Ethan Ewing, then it was Jack Robinson’s turn to feel all the strength and determination of the Brazilian. Then it was the turn of the local peak: Griffin Colapinto, to try to stop the fury of Ítalo Ferreira. This duel was a surfing show and the crowd was euphoric with the athletes’ performance. When the heat ended, it was necessary to wait for some scores that were still being analyzed and the tension took over the beach. When the scores came out, the Brazilian was able to celebrate his passage to the grand final.
While resting for the final, Ítalo was able to watch and see an 18-year-old girl become a world surfing champion. Caittlin Simmers really surfs great and deserved her first title. The young American surfer has a polished and powerful style, and has everything she needs to win more titles and become one of the greatest surfers in history. Simmers surfs with that feeling of happiness and being able to do what she loves. She still carries the true spirit of surfing. She says she wants to have fun and catch good waves, that she cheers for her teammates and is enjoying everything that is happening in her life.
In the men’s final, Italo, always getting excellent scores, forced John John to surf at the highest level if he wanted to win the title, and he did.
John John joins a small and select group of three-time world champions. He equals his compatriot Andy Irons, who is considered by many to be one of the best surfers of all time, with three titles. Mick Fanning, Tom Curren and Gabriel Medina round out the list.
The Hawaiian is very calm and doesn’t even seem like a competitor like the others. He surfs so well that he can afford not to impose that competitive surfing all the time. John John only needs two waves to do a huge amount of damage and force his opponents to fight hard if they want something different.
He really has perfect surfing skills. If we went to Pipeline where he lives and just watched him on a normal day, we would see spectacular things. He catches big waves, has won giant wave stages and there is no debate about his level of surfing. He is a pure talent.
This year was full of complaints and controversies about some of the scores that were judged. We need to sit down and think calmly about where the world circuit is going, its format and what can be changed to make it fairer for everyone. There are always discussions about the format of the championship, the number of stages with left-hand waves and the judging criteria. I believe that if the WSL wants to, it has every capacity to look at this and move towards something fairer and more impartial. Without these changes, we will always have discussions about whether we are losing the essence, whether the pool will also have a world championship, whether the judging criteria can evolve into something more assertive and always in the realm of “if” these discussions generate a flood of distortions. But the WSL is competent enough to study, analyze and do its best, trying to preserve its main product: the surfers, stars of a show that can be grander and fairer.
Next year promises to be one of the most competitive. Filipe Toledo, John John and Medina will be back, aiming for their fourth world title, as well as Jack Robison, Italo Ferreira, Yago Dora, Ethan Ewing and others. A keen eye is needed to bring about significant changes, as has already happened.
Let’s take care of the real spirit of surfing.
Aloha
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