Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Surfer
Photos: The Best Moments From a Historic WSL Finals Day
By Jake Howard,
2 days ago
2024 WSL World Champions Caity Simmers and John John Florence.
Thiago Diz &sol WSL
It was 90 degrees in the shade at Lower Trestles, but what was happening in the water at the WSL Finals was considerably hotter. The rise of Caity Simmers , now the youngest world champion in history, is complete. By taking out Caroline Marks, the defending world champion and Olympic gold medalist, she's ushered in a new era on the women's Championship Tour.
And then there was John John Florence, who earned his third world title. What more can be said about his performance other than it was a model of efficiency. While rival Italo Ferreira was a wave-catching machine, throwing himself at every bump that rolled through the Lowers lineup, in his two World Title Match heats, Florence caught a total of six waves. Winning the world title is a culmination of a year's worth of work, but in the modern era of th WSL Finals format, it came down to four scoring waves for the surfer from Hawaii. It was as steely and disciplined performance as surfing has seen in a long, long time.
And while the celebration parties continue, here are some moments from a magic day in Southern California. The heat was on, the waves delivered, and the surfing was next level.
John John Florence and Caity Simmers, you 2024 WSL World Champions.
Tony Heff &sol WSL
All hail the queen. The moment Caity Simmers went from world title hopeful to world champion.
“It means so much,” Simmers said. “I literally was going through every single emotion today, and it just feels crazy. I can’t believe it. I was feeling so much love today from everyone. You can look at it that it’s all for yourself or you can look at it like it’s for those people who support me.”
Pat Nolan &sol WSL
After dealing with a myriad of injury issues over the last five years, Florence's third world title hit different. Normally calm, cool and collected, the emotion was inescapable.
“I’m tearing up," Florence said. “I can’t believe it. The last seven years have been so tough. There were so many injuries, and just fighting back to being in this position. My family, my wife, my son, my team, everyone. I couldn’t have done it without them because of the injuries and the down days and just so much going into these last few years to get to this point.”
Thiago Diz &sol WSL
Florence with the turn of the day, and likely the turn of the year. The wave garnered a 9.70 from the judges, the highest single wave score in WSL Finals history.
“What a day,” Florence said. “It’s been a really hard road getting here. It feels really good to be done and to win again. The list of names that have three World Titles is pretty incredible, and to be part of that now is really fun. I’m stoked to tie it with Gabe [Medina], because he’s such a fierce competitor, and we qualified at the same time.”
Tatiana Weston-Webb at the 2024 WSL Finals at Lower Trestles in Southern California&period
Trestles is also for the f---ing girls, just ask Caity Simmers.
Tony Heff &sol WSL
Pushing the World Title Match to three heats, Marks almost pulled off the historic feat of winning the world title and Olympic gold in the same year. She's going to have to wait until 2028 to try again. She'll only be 26 when the Games come to L.A.
Tony Heff &sol WSL
The Florida crew was out in force to cheer on Caroline Marks as she looked to defend her 2023 world title.
Thiago Diz &sol WSL
Standing room only on the scorching beach at Lower Trestles.
Tony Heff &sol WSL
The agony of defeat. For hometown hero Griffin Colapinto, another early exit at the WSL Finals cuts deep.
Thiago Diz &sol WSL
Coming in as the number five seed, Italo Ferreira was unstoppable on finals day ... until Florence finally put the breaks on him.
Pat Nolan &sol WSL
Tatiana Weston-Webb gave it a good run for the money. Coming in the number five seed, she was one heat away from the World Title Match before number two seed Caroline Marks slowed her roll.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
Comments / 0