.png){kind=logo}
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference.
These cookies are essential to enable user movement across our website and for providing access to features such as your profile. These cookies cannot be disabled. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information and cannot be used for marketing purposes.
These cookies allow us to analyze visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site and enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers, such as Google Analytics, whose services we have added to our pages. Information collected through these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly and/or we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts or content. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
Road To The Rip Curl WSL Finals: The Brilliant Dominance Of Gabriel Medina
Ben Collins
It was a year of contrasts for two-time World Champion Gabriel Medina. He dominated a season in which he displayed a clearly more relaxed, content style on land.
Athletes of Medina's caliber often double down on their singular, win-at-all-costs attitude but for the Brazilian, his best season yet coincided with a chilled out vibe. He was happily and new married, and the first time in his career he was traveling without step-dad and former coach Charlie Rodrigues.
He wasn't holding anything back in the water. But on land, in the athlete area and around the event sites, this fierce competitor infamous for his enigmatic, guarded persona was decidedly stoked. Importantly, the best way to describe his new approach was that he seemed to be enjoying himself, regardless of the results.
And whatever Medina was doing this year, it worked. He won two events, and placed second in three more. This gave him a 11,740 point lead on rival and world no.2 Italo Ferreira.
When he was on a roll in the events he won -- the Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic presented by Corona and the Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona -- he looked unstoppable. These were some of the most elevated, technically advanced performances in pro surfing history.
His worst result all year was a ninth place finish at the Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro presented by Corona. His second-worst was a fifth at the Corona Open Mexico presented by Quiksilver. To put that into perspective, his worst finishes are equivalent other athlete's on the Championship Tour's best.
With John John Florence out for much of the season with a knee injury, there was times this season when it looked as if the only person with any hope of holding Medina back was Ferreira. He's one of the only people on Tour with the ability to match Medina in the air, as well as in the barrel or on the face of the wave.
Such is Medina's dominance at this point that it's actually hard to identify any weaknesses. In previous years, you would have said it's that he starts slow and doesn't even seem to become interested until the season is half over. This time around, he dominated out of the gate.
Sitting atop the rankings, he only needs to win two heats at the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lower Trestles to claim a third World Title. Considering his form this year, that's not a tall order. Really the only thing working against him is the pressure of having it all riding on one heat, but pressure has never phased him before.
Rip Curl WSL Finals runs from September 9-17, 2021 in San Clemente, California. A historic, one-day, winner-take-all race for the 2021 World Title, don't miss a second of the action right here on WorldSurfLeague.com.
News
Community Unites to Restore Margaret River Coastline
WSL Survey Sweepstakes
11-time World Champion Kelly Slater Returns to Compete as Event Wildcard at Lowers
The current North America Longboard QS No. 1 Malia Ilagan is headed back for Virginia Beach looking to seal her spot on the 2025 WSL