Latest news with #CaitlinSimmers
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
'Amazing scenes' as world-champion surfer shares wave with dolphins
'Amazing scenes' as world-champion surfer shares wave with dolphins Caitlin Simmers didn't win the recent Western Australia Margaret River Pro, but the 2024 World Surf League champion did to surf circles around a couple of dolphins. The accompanying footage, courtesy of the WSL, shows Simmers ripping a large wave in slow motion while at least two "locals" appear in the face. Or, as the announcer exclaims: 'Look at this! Amazing scenes as Caity Simmers just flies over the top of that dolphin… And they're loving sharing a wave with the world champ!' The dolphins might have actually breached the wave face had it not been so beautifully occupied. Simmers, of Oceanside, Ca., finished second to Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan in the event, and is currently second to Bryan in the 2025 WSL standings.
ABC News
27-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Gabriela Bryan and Jordy Smith claim victory at the Margaret River Pro
A young star and tour veteran have won the Margaret River Pro, with Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan and South Africa's Jordy Smith celebrating after a challenging week of surfing. It is Bryan's second successive win at the Margaret River Pro, and her second win in the World Surf League's Championship Tour this year. Posting a 9.5 and securing the best combined total for the women's series so far, Bryan holds onto the yellow jersey and puts extra space between herself and 19-year-old Caitlin Simmers, who sits at a close number two on the women's world rankings. She told the World Surf League she was still getting used to her status as the competition's front-runner. "Every heat I have with it I'm getting more comfortable," Bryan said. "I have amazing people supporting me and I honestly couldn't do it without them." Simmers is still hoping for her second world title in a row after becoming the youngest to claim one last year. She knocked off the last-standing West Australian, wildcard Bronte Macaulay, in their semi-final heat earlier in the day. It was Macaulay's fourth time making the semi-finals at her home break but she has never made it to finals. But she came out all smiles, to cheers from local supporters. It was the veteran versus the comeback kids in the men's final, with South Africa's Smith eventually securing the win. American surfer Griffin Colapinto charged up the ranks to make both the cut and the Margaret River Pro finals, but Smith's performance was too strong. Smith, oldest in the league at 37, has already had one win this year and currently sits at number one, chasing his first world title. He made the most of the slight swell on offer, less than a week after Main Break offered up some of its biggest waves on record. The Margaret River event has served as a crucial mid-year cut point for the tour, after which lower-ranked competitors are relegated back to the qualifying circuit, a format which has divided surf fans. It was announced earlier this year that the feature would be dropped in 2026, and tour organisers would reintroduce a more traditional cumulative points winner to determine titles for the 2026 season. The Margaret River event will also be held earlier in the tour, with the season-ending event shifted to Pipeline in Hawaii. The tour now moves to California where 11-time world champion Kelly Slater will compete as a wildcard ahead of the world title showdown in Fiji in August.
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Hawaii's Bryan goes back-to-back in Western Australia waves
May 27 (Reuters) - Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan defended her Western Australia Margaret River Pro title on Tuesday, showcasing her powerful forehand surfing to beat reigning world champion Caitlin Simmers and maintain her rankings lead over her Californian rival. South African Jordy Smith won the men's event, stop seven on the world tour, by taking out California's Griffin Colapinto. The 37-year-old now leads the world championship rankings 18 years after making his tour debut. While conditions had slowed on Tuesday after big, perfect surf earlier in the competition period, Simmers and Bryan started their final swiftly. Simmers, 19, notched up a solid 7.17 out of 10 only to see Bryan use her trademark power on a series of searing turns for a near perfect 9.5. Both surfers followed up their initial keeper scores with some mid-range numbers before Bryan notched up another solid wave for a 7.83 and 17.33 total inside the first 10 minutes of the final. "I just went out there and was like, I've just got to surf my heart out, and that's what I did on that (9.5) wave. And then I was lucky enough to get a backup before it went flat, so yeah, I'm so stoked," Bryan, 23, said. Smith, who joined the world tour in 2008 and is the oldest competitor on tour, also got off to a strong start, picking up an excellent 8.5 on his first wave after Colapinto garnered a modest 4.83. With the ocean going quiet and needing a solid score, Colapinto waited in vain for another opportunity that never came, handing Smith his second win this year. "I think it's just a testament to every day, keep showing up, trusting what you're doing," Smith said. "This year has really been about having fun and enjoying this, because it's not forever." Colapinto finished third in the world in 2023 and 2024 but had a shocking start to this year, languishing near the bottom of the rankings before the start of the three-leg Australian tour. The 26-year-old from San Clemente had two of the most memorable waves of the event - a near-impossible tube in an early round and the only perfect 10-point ride in a blockbuster quarter-final against Italy's Leo Fioravanti. Trailing and needing a 9.4, Colapinto sped along an overhead wave and launched into a huge, full rotation aerial, greasing the landing as the shallow reef loomed. The tour next heads to Colapinto's home break, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics surfing venue of Lower Trestles. The top five men and women after the 11-stop tour will then compete for the world title in a one-day, winner-takes-all Finals Day in Fiji.
CNA
27-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Surfing-Hawaii's Bryan goes back-to-back in Western Australia waves
Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan defended her Western Australia Margaret River Pro title on Tuesday, showcasing her powerful forehand surfing to beat reigning world champion Caitlin Simmers and maintain her rankings lead over her Californian rival. South African Jordy Smith won the men's event, stop seven on the world tour, by taking out California's Griffin Colapinto. The 37-year-old now leads the world championship rankings 18 years after making his tour debut. While conditions had slowed on Tuesday after big, perfect surf earlier in the competition period, Simmers and Bryan started their final swiftly. Simmers, 19, notched up a solid 7.17 out of 10 only to see Bryan use her trademark power on a series of searing turns for a near perfect 9.5. Both surfers followed up their initial keeper scores with some mid-range numbers before Bryan notched up another solid wave for a 7.83 and 17.33 total inside the first 10 minutes of the final. "I just went out there and was like, I've just got to surf my heart out, and that's what I did on that (9.5) wave. And then I was lucky enough to get a backup before it went flat, so yeah, I'm so stoked," Bryan, 23, said. Smith, who joined the world tour in 2008 and is the oldest competitor on tour, also got off to a strong start, picking up an excellent 8.5 on his first wave after Colapinto garnered a modest 4.83. With the ocean going quiet and needing a solid score, Colapinto waited in vain for another opportunity that never came, handing Smith his second win this year. "I think it's just a testament to every day, keep showing up, trusting what you're doing," Smith said. "This year has really been about having fun and enjoying this, because it's not forever." Colapinto finished third in the world in 2023 and 2024 but had a shocking start to this year, languishing near the bottom of the rankings before the start of the three-leg Australian tour. The 26-year-old from San Clemente had two of the most memorable waves of the event - a near-impossible tube in an early round and the only perfect 10-point ride in a blockbuster quarter-final against Italy's Leo Fioravanti. Trailing and needing a 9.4, Colapinto sped along an overhead wave and launched into a huge, full rotation aerial, greasing the landing as the shallow reef loomed. The tour next heads to Colapinto's home break, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics surfing venue of Lower Trestles. The top five men and women after the 11-stop tour will then compete for the world title in a one-day, winner-takes-all Finals Day in Fiji.
ABC News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Stephanie Gilmore hungry to avenge loss to Erin Brooks after comeback at WSL Gold Coast Pro
Eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore has all but confirmed a return to the top level next year following her quarter-final finish at the Gold Coast Pro last week. The greatest female surfer of all time will not be at Margaret River when the World Surf League championship tour event kicks off today, but the 37-year-old says a promising comeback at Burleigh Heads has reignited her competitive fire. "Jeffreys Bay sounds pretty good, Lower Trestles, Fiji," she said. "I was excited to go out there and test myself against the best girls in the world and see if I can still do it. "Now I'm thinking I want to get some revenge." After an 18-month break from the sport, Gilmore was granted a wildcard entry into her home event. She claimed the prized scalp of reigning women's world champion, 19-year-old Caitlin Simmers, before going down to another rising star, 17-year-old Erin Brooks, in the finals. Brooks was just five months old when Gilmore won her first world title in her rookie year on tour in 2007. "I used to always see stats when Kelly [Slater] would surf heats against up-and-comers and they were like, 'Kelly was on tour for five years before this guy was born,'" Gilmore said. "Now that's the situation I'm in, and it's cool. Having proved to herself she still has what it takes to match it with an exciting new generation of female talent on tour, Gilmore said she had unfinished business and was hungry to avenge her loss. The WSL's new-look 2026 schedule will help to sweeten the deal. A return to the "Dream Tour" destinations and the axing of the controversial mid-season cut made it likely fans would be seeing the biggest name in the sport back in a rashie next year. Gilmore admits she has missed the adrenaline rush of high-stakes competition and the energy of surfing in front of big crowds, but do not expect to see her at every stop. "At the end of the day, I think it's more about your personal drive and motivation," she said.
