Australian surf stars do the double at Tahiti Pro: ‘Special'

7NEWS

2 days ago

Jack Robinson has won the Tahiti Pro and surged into the World Surf League's Finals at the expense of countryman Ethan Ewing after mastering a pumping Teahupo'o swell.
Compatriot Molly Picklum had earlier won the women's crown to complete an Australian double on Thursday (AEST) in a pulsating finale to the regular season.
West Australian Robinson sat seventh and had to win the event to push inside the final five after fellow Aussie and 2024 runner-up Ewing left the door ajar in a quarter-final exit.
He emphatically shot through it, Robinson backing up an 18.1-point semi-final total with 16.9 in the final that included an early 9.50-point ride.
The victory, Robinson's second in Tahiti following success in 2023, moved him to fourth in the standings ahead of Fiji's top-five shootout later this month.
In his fourth straight Finals appearance, Robinson will be aiming to become the first Australian male world champion since Mick Fanning's third title in 2013.
'Right where we're meant to be ... I had a mission and I went for it,' said Robinson, whose wife Julia and 18-month-old son, Zen, watched on from the safety of a boat in the channel.
'Very blessed to be going to Fiji. It comes down to the last one, and I'm right there again.'
Picklum had earlier outpointed American rival and reigning world champion Caitlin Simmers in one final statement before her Fiji charge.
The Australian had already secured the No.1 seeding by reaching the final in Teahupo'o.
Wind subsided and the waves grew just as Picklum hit the water on Thursday (AEST).
A dramatic wipe-out by Simmers (4.94-point total), on what would likely have been a 10-point ride, was an early turning point as both surfers pushed the limits.
The Australian was all class, notching three eight-point rides in the heat for her second victory this season and fourth consecutive top-two finish.
Picklum (17.26) had earlier defied a huge wipe-out to win her semi-final.
'It was sick, so nice to make a few waves and not get so flogged. I feel like I've earnt my stripes in this event,' Picklum said.
Simmers joked she was 'under water for most of the final' after the early mishap.
'I wish Caity (Simmers) had obviously made one to make it more exciting,' Picklum sympathised.
'The poor girl was so buggered at the end there.
'I've been on that side of the stick, and I'm so happy to get another one up.
'What a special place. You just feel the energy, the dream comes alive, and Fiji next.'
Ewing, runner-up last season in an incredible return from multiple spinal fractures, had earlier put his finals fate in Robinson's hands.
A semi-final berth would have locked in Ewing's Finals spot.
But with Griffin Colapinto facing the same scenario, the door was emphatically shut just minutes into their heat.
The American (16.76) found 8.33 and 8.43-point rides, leaving Ewing (14.2) scrambling fruitlessly for a reply.
Robinson then beat Colapinto brothers Crosby and Griffin to push the Queenslander into sixth.
WSL FINAL FIVE - Fiji, August 27 to September 4