Picklum misses out on WSL top spot with Supertubos loss
Both Picklum and her fellow Aussie Ethan Ewing, in the men's event, were defeated in semi-finals at the Rip Curl Pro event in Portugal on Sunday while Marks and Yago Dora went on to be crowned champions on the third leg of the WSL tour.
The consolation for the Australian pair was to improve their positions in the overall standings, with Picklum strengthening her second-place in the women's program and Ewing moving up one spot to third in the men's list.
Ethan on a Supertubos bomb 💣📺 Finals Day at the #ProPortugal is LIVE.@meopt @ripcurl @corona @visitportugal pic.twitter.com/bhXVz8rHL7
— World Surf League (@wsl) March 23, 2025
But the 22-year-old Gosford surfer Picklum must have been hoping for even better, knowing victory in Portugal would have elevated her to the top of the standings after a second and third place in the year's other two competitions.
She had a long wait during the week to return to action as weather conditions kept her sidelined and, as for the rest of the surfers, she had to contend with strong winds and a testing rip at Peniche.
In a tight contest which only came alive in the latter stages, she was beaten by just 1.03 points (8.53-7.50) by Marks, who then went on to edge another close battle with Hawaiian youngster Gabriela Bryan 7.90 to 6.97 in the final.
Picklum's third-place gives her 19,970 points for the season, narrowing the gap in the overall race behind American leader Caitlin Simmers, who is on 22,545, with Marks moving up to third on 19,490.
On a particularly long and arduous day of catch-up for the men, Ewing proved the best of the Australians, beating American Cole Houshmand (USA) 12.76-7.94 in the last-16, and Brazilian Filipe Toledo 12.50-8.96 in the quarters, before losing with a calamitous series against eventual winner Dora in the semis, 12.83-3.50.
Jack Robinson got to the quarters after beating fellow Australian Liam O'Brien, but he too was no match for Dora, who defeated him 15.50-8.50 in the last-eight.
Dora went on to take the Portugal trophy by beating fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira, 13.37 to 12.43, in the final.
The 26-year-old Queenslander Ewing moved up to third in the standings on 15,490 points, behind leader Ferreira (23,885) and Hawaii's Barron Mamiya (17,415), while Robinson is seventh on 12,160.
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