Hawaii surfer Carissa Moore continued her strong 2022 World Surf League Championship Tour season, capturing the Oi Rio Pro in Saquarema, Brazil, on Tuesday.
The current World No. 1 surfer and five-time WSL Champion came into the event with three second-place finishes this season. The win gave Moore her 25th career CT victory and extended her lead in the rankings over Johanne Defay (France), Lakey Peterson (United States), Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), and Brisa Hennessy (Costa Rica) while also clinching a spot in the WSL Final 5.
She’ll now have her sights set on another World Title run at the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lower Trestles in September.
“Wow, I didn’t even know it was possible here, but I’m really, really stoked,” said Moore on a World Surf League News press release. “That’s really cool, it takes some pressure off. That’s awesome, sweet!”
Moore surfed six waves in the final round, scoring 15.43. She held a pair of mid-range scores of 5.50 and 5.93 heading into her final run, but turned up the heat for her final wave. She blasted consecutive backside hacks to turn in a women’s division event-best 9.50 and clinched the win over Defay, who scored 12.33 (7.50, 4.83) on eight rides as runner-up.
“This is one of my favorite wins in my whole career,” said Moore. “Coming up against my good friend Johanne Defay is always difficult. She got me in G-Land and I really feel like she’s the one to beat this year. I was behind in the whole heat and I thought that I was probably going to get another 2nd place here, but things went my way.
“I’ve just had such an incredible week at a house with all my friends, the crowds have been amazing, and I’ve felt a lot of love and support here, so I think that’s what made it even more special.”
The semifinal round saw Moore defeat Brazilian surfer and Kauai resident Tatiana Weston-Webb to punch her ticket to the final. Moore scored a 14.60 in the penultimate round, surfing seven waves and scoring 7.00 and 7.60 on her second and sixth rides. Weston-Webb scored 11.77 (6.00, 5.77). Fellow Hawaii surfer Gabriela Bryan fell to Defay in the other semifinal. Bryan scored 9.67 (6.00, 3.67) to Defay’s 12.16 (6.33, 5.83).
On the men’s side, Filipe Toledo emerged victorious in an all-Brazil final. Toledo scored an event-high 18.67 on seven waves surfed. He scored a perfect 10.00 on his third ride, followed by an 8.67 fourth ride. Fellow Brazilian Samuel Pupo scored 10.73 (8.00, 2.73).
Following their victories, Moore and Toledo were awarded the inaugural Mano Ziul Award. The award, given to the surfers with the highest heat total (Moore 15.43, Toledo 18.67), honors Brazil’s Ziul, who revolutionized surfing with the original digital scoring system. Ziul also provided the first webcasts for surf contests.
