Page 3 - MidWeek West - Sep 22 2021

Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
We live in historic times — even when it comes to the sport of surfing. Think Olympics. Now, think of the World Surf League and its fi- nal contest of the year.
BY GARY KEWLEY
World Surf League Crowns Its 2021 Champions
It just finished Tuesday, Sept. 14, at Trestles in San Clemente, California. The surf was pumping near dou- ble overhead with good con- ditions and shape. The format was unlike anything our sport has ever seen — and it worked wonders. Many worried, as the contest structure was so different, but it proved to be a winner, especially if you like
a winner at the final event — the Pipe Masters — every December. Now, the final contest switched to a one- day event on the West Coast, during which just the top five men and top five women got to put it all on the line; win- ner takes all!
Fast-forward to the first- ever Rip Curl WSL Finals at Trestles. The two reigning world champs from 2019, Carissa Moore and Gabriel Medina, won the contest, and thereby won the 2021 title. This makes five world titles for Moore and three for Medina.
Gabriel Medina of Brazil and Carissa Moore of Hawai‘i won Rip Curl WSL Finals, making them the 2021 WSL Champions. PHOTO COURTESY WSL
ships, Moore only sits behind Kelly Slater with a ludicrous 11, and seven titles for Layne Beachley and Stephanie Gilmore.
Medina has also accom- plished a lifelong dream of getting to three titles to join the likes of California legend Tom Curren, Hawaiʻi’s Andy Irons and Australia’s Mick Fanning.
I have the detailed results at snnhawaii.com.
tension and a fresh approach. Normally, each contest takes three to four days to complete and then all the pros just add up their points based on results per event from all year long. We’d get
women. See the detailed heat structure from last week’s column or on surfnewsnet- work.com. Side note: the new order of events in 2022 now places Pipeline first (Jan. 29) and will include women with equal pay and status! Surfing is the first sport to do so.
was a very long day,” states Moore. “Today didn’t start as I expected, I had to fight my way back, so it made it a bit sweeter to win. I was about to have a meltdown after the first heat. I tried my best, surfed from my heart, and it worked out. I’ve never been in the water when winning a world title, so this is extra special. I couldn’t ask for anything more!”
“This was my biggest goal in surfing,” states Medina. “It’s not every day you ac- complish your dream. This is a special day for me, it’s a day I’ll remember forever and tell my kids about. This year was very intense and mental- ly challenging, I had to work hard, have patience and let my surf talk. I had to surf a lot to win this title!”
Usually, there’s over 30 men and about half that for women in each contest. Now, it’s 10 total for men and
Thanks for sharing your time with me in MidWeek’s West O‘ahu Voice.
With total world champion-
“It was a long year and it
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 3
GQ, droppin’ in 4U!
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