:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_bc8228b6673f488aa253bbcb03c80ec5/internal_photos/bs/2021/T/M/1bcAAVS3mznAlql4W4WA/filipemedinaitalo.jpg "WSL Finals: Medina expects Italo rocked by gold and Toledo with best track record in Trestles | surfing world")
The WSL Finals window opened last Thursday, in Trestles, with Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira and Filipe Toledo in search of Brazil’s fifth world title in the last seven seasons. If Gabriel has the advantage of already being in the decision for having finished first in the regular season, Italo has been rocked by gold in Tokyo, while Filipinho has the “home” factor and the best track record of the 3 Brazilians in California (USA). Tatiana Weston-Webb will be the only Brazilian female. The forecast is for the competition to take place from next Monday.
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Filipe Toledo, Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira fight for the world title at the WSL Finals — Photo: WSL / Diz
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After an impeccable season, with the right to 5 finals and 2 titles in the 7 stages disputed, Gabriel Medina would have already won the three-time world championship in advance if this year’s dispute was for consecutive points, as it was until this season. With the formation change for 2021, Medina will now have the advantage of already being in the final of the WSL Finals.
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To be champion, the surfer from Maresias will have to face, in a best of three series, a challenger who will come from a knockout among the other 4 best surfers of the season: in addition to Italo (2nd) and Toledo (3rd), the American Conner Coffin (4th) and Australian Morgan Cibilic (5th) will have the chance to challenge the two-time world champion in the decision.
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– I think it will be a Brazilian final, I think, is my opinion. Now, who I don’t know. Because the two surfers we have, Felipe and Italo, are top-level surfers, right? Who have the ability to win an event or a title. So this is a tough battery. But I’m confident, not because of my world titles, but because of my training and my dedication. That’s what gives me confidence – explained Medina, world champion in 2014 and 2018, in an interview to the World League.
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chave masculina Trestles — Photo: WSL
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Filipinho has a home factor and the best track record of the 3
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Filipe Toledo, number 3 in the ranking, is classified for the quarterfinals and will have to face the winner of the duel between Conner and Morgan. Filipinho has in his favor the fact that he is well acquainted with the Trestles wave as he is competing “at home”. The surfer from Ubatuba-SP has been living since 2015 in San Clemente, a city next to the San Onofre reserve, where the Lower Trestles wave is located.
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In addition to the comfort of being able to sleep at home and have the support of his family, Filipinho has one of the best retrospectives in history in the waves of Trestles. Since moving to California, in 2015, the Brazilian has made two semifinals, in world elite events there, until he won the 2017 stage, the last year of the event on the tour. In 2018, the Trestles competition was replaced by the Surf Ranch wave pool. Filipinho also has a victory in an access ranking event held in Trestles in 2015 on his resume.
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– I feel it is a great opportunity for me and it will be amazing to be on the podium with the champion trophy. I know there are still many challenges ahead in this event, but I’ve been training hard and I’m enjoying my time here as much as possible. Now just wait for good waves, the forecast looks great and I just want to have fun – said Filipinho.
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Filipe Toledo was champion in Trestles in 2017, the last year of the stage until his return at the WSL Finals — Photo: WSL / Rowland
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Italo is on the cusp of gold in Tokyo
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Rocked by the Olympic title, Italo Ferreira can turn 2020 into a historic year for his career with the two-time world championship. Against the Baia Formosa surfer, the bad record in California weighs in: he collects two 13th and a 9th in events he played in the surfing elite in Trestles.
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The record may be lower than Filipe’s, but Italo has already shown that this was not a problem when he was crowned world champion at Pipeline in 2019, in a place he had never even made it past the round of 16. The Potiguar also has the advantage over Toledo of already being in the semifinals of the WSL Finals, by occupying the vice-leadership in the world ranking. In other words, Filipinho will have to beat an opponent before he has the chance to face Italo.
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– This has been a very special year for me. All these surfers here are a big inspiration for me and I’m very excited to compete with them in this next challenge of my career – said Italo, at the WSL Finals press conference.
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After the gold medal in Tokyo, Italo Ferreira is looking for the perfect year with the World Cup — Photo: André Durão
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Medina had a gala performance in 2012 and trauma in 2016 in Trestles
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Gabriel Medina will have the privilege of watching his opponents battle to see who will face him in the big decision. In addition to being more rested than his rivals, as the WSL Finals will take place in just one day of competition, Gabriel has already had outstanding performances in the waves of Trestles.
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The biggest one happened outside the world’s elite, in an event of the access division, in 2012, in which the surfer from Maresias won the stage with a gala presentation. At 18 years old, Gabriel managed to get through his heats at that event with scathing performances, including a record 19.80 (out of a possible 20) points in the semifinals, thanks to his airs on Trestles’ lefts.
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However, one of Gabriel’s most memorable moments in the traditional California peak was the controversial elimination of 2016. Gabriel lost in the 3rd stage of the Trestles stage to local surfer Tanner Gudauskas, with a judgment considered controversial by much of the surfing world. The defeat ended up costing the Brazilian the world title. Medina collects as best results in elite stages in Trestles a 3rd (2015) and a 5th (2014).
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– Winning the third world title is my biggest goal. The thrill of winning the title is incredible. All the surfers I admire the most have won three titles, so I really want to be part of that group – said Gabriel.
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Medina taking off on Trestles’ lefts in 2012 — Photo: ASP / Rowland
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