Yago Dora wins the Saquarema stage of the world surfing circuit

Saquarema (RJ) – Yago Dora, from Paraná, won, this Saturday (1st), the stage in Saquarema (RJ) of the World Surfing League (WSL) circuit. Born in Curitiba and based in Florianópolis, the 27-year-old surfer had not yet won in the elite of the sport, which he has been part of since 2018.

Started last June 23, the competition was interrupted for a week due to lack of waves. The disputes returned last Thursday (29) and had to be accelerated, to end this Saturday, the deadline for the closure of the stage. So much so that Yago went to the waters of Itaúna beach three times on the last day of the event.

The first match of the Paraná native this Saturday was against another Brazilian, Jadson André from Rio Grande do Norte. Yago hit a sequence of tricks that guaranteed an 8.50 grade, taking the sum of the two best grades to 14.00 (he already had a 5.50), making the opponent’s mission difficult. Jadson didn’t pass a sum of 8.13 (5.43 and 2.70) and said goodbye to the event.

The next duel pitted Yago against the Hawaiian John John Florence, two-time world champion. The surfers struggled to find good waves, but the Brazilian, even so, won and qualified for the decision, with 6.00 and 4.60 of the best grades, totaling 10.60, against 6.50 of the rival’s sum (4.00 and 2.50).

In the final, the man from Paraná faced Australian Ethan Ewing. As in the previous phase, the first waves resulted in low notes, with Yago ahead by a few tenths. It was then that the surfer from Curitiba shone, hitting an aerial maneuver and completing the rotation, securing a 10.0 score, decisive for securing the victory. The Brazilian obtained 14.83 (10.0 and 4.83) of sum, against 10.83 (6.00 and 4.83) of Ewing.

The victory took Yago to the fifth position of the season, with 32,120 points (the achievement yielded 10,000 points to the man from Paraná, who rose seven positions in the ranking). The circuit’s top-5 – which defines the athletes who will compete for the world title in September, at the WSL Finals, in Trestles (United States) – has two other Brazilians. The São Paulo champion and current champion Filipe Toledo leads, with 44,980 points. Fluminense João Chianca, Chumbinho, is fourth, with 39,640 points.

In the women’s category, the title of Saquarema went to the young American Caitlin Simmers, just 17 years old, who overcame the Australian Taylor Wright in the final. Brazil was represented by Tatiana Weston-Webb from Rio Grande do Sul and Silvana Lima from Ceará, but both lost in the first phase and were eliminated in the playoffs. Tati, who is already guaranteed at the Olympics in Paris (France), was justly defeated by Simmers.

In the season standings, Tati is in sixth place, with 31,625 points, leaving the top-5 after being overtaken by Simmers, who took fifth position. The leader is Hawaiian Carissa Moore, five-time world champion, with 51,660 points. Silvana – who is currently not competing in the WSL elite – attended the event in Saquarema as a guest.

There are two steps left for the end of the regular season – which precedes the WSL Finals. The next one will be between July 13th and 22nd, in Jeffrey’s Bay (South Africa). From August 11th to 20th, the dispute will be in Teahupo’o (Tahiti).

*With information from Agência Brasil

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