John John wins back-to-back World Titles
BANZAI PIPELINE, Oahu, Hawaii/USA (Monday, December 18, 2017) - John John Florence (HAW) clinched the 2017 World Surf League (WSL) Title today at the Billabong Pipe Masters, making him the first male surfer since the late Andy Irons (HAW) to successfully defend a maiden world title (Irons was ’02, ’03). Mark Richards (AUS), Tom Carroll (AUS) and Tom Curren (USA) are the only other male surfers to have achieved this feat.
“It’s been my dream to win here at home,” Florence said. “There’s been a nervous build up to this event and I just don’t know what to say, I’m shaking. So many people have been here for me this year and it’s been awesome. It’s been an awesome year and I’m just so stoked.”
Florence’s season started out with strong results during the Australian leg, including his first event win of the year in Margaret River. After two 13th place finishes in Rio and Fiji, Florence steadily improved his results through the remainder of the season. With a 5th place in both Jeffreys Bay and Tahiti, followed by Semifinal berths at Trestles and in France, Florence reclaimed the Jeep Leader Jersey from closest rival Jordy Smith (ZAF).
Challengers Smith, Owen Wright (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Filipe Toledo (BRA)and Adriano de Souza (BRA) all suffered early eliminations in Portugal, falling out of reach of the title. Going into the Billabong Pipe Masters, only four surfers remained in contention to clinch the title, but contenders Gabriel Medina (BRA), Julian Wilson (AUS), and Smith weren’t able to deliver the results needed to block Florence at his home break in Hawaii. Florence’s victory was sealed after Medina was eliminated today in the Quarterfinals at the hands of eventual event winner Jeremy Flores (FRA).
"I think I learned a lot about myself this year competing with all the pressure, especially coming from last year’s win,” Florence continued. “It’s been a hard year and I’ve had some ups and some downs, but mostly I had a lot of fun. I think that's what came out of last year and I really, really wanted to enjoy every moment of it.”
Universally-regarded as one of the best all-around surfers, Florence has diligently worked at improving since qualifying for the elite WSL Championship Tour (CT) in 2011. A seven-year competitor on the CT, the surfer form Hawaii claimed his maiden title in 2016 with an early-season clinch in Portugal, having previously finished in the Top 5 twice before (4th in 2012 and 3rd in 2014). With this second title, the surfing world is eyeing the beginning of a new dynasty in high-performance surfing.
“It’s been scary being that close in points to someone like Gabriel (Medina) who’s such a great surfer out here and a fierce competitor,” said Florence. “His comeback in Europe was amazing, he won two events in a row and then was right there in the title race. Surfing with him out here has been nerve racking but it would have been cool if we had a final for the title.
“I couldn't have done it without my guys traveling with me and I have to thank my mom for all this because she took me and my brothers traveling when we were young and really just got us to love the ocean and I think that's what we’re all in this for - the love of surfing - so thank you, mom, I wouldn't be here without you.”
Jeremy Flores (FRA) claimed his second Billabong Pipe Masters victory today after defeating Florence in an exciting Final. Flores, the 2010 Pipe Master, took out Kanoa Igarashi (USA) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) en route to the Final against the new WSL Champion. Flores rounds out the year at 15th place on the Jeep Leaderboard to solidify his place on the 2018 CT thanks to today’s victory, his best result of the season and his first CT win since Tahiti in 2015.
"Winning the Pipe Masters against John John Florence like that in perfect Backdoor in the last seconds, that’s the best way to win,” Flores said. “I couldn't think of any better way to win this Pipe Master. I'm so, so stoked and there’s a lot of emotions. Congrats to everyone. Congrats to John John (Florence) and Gabriel (Medina), these guys are next level. My goal was to win this event but this is crazy, I'm so happy.
“To be honest, I don't like to be that guy that’s deciding titles - it should be a showdown between John and Gabriel, these guys work so hard,” Flores continued. “That's why honestly when I beat Gabriel I felt bad. It’s been an emotional day and yesterday was stressful. I had to make one heat to re qualify pretty much and I made it with a 4 and a 2. I just wanted to have fun today and I did and the waves showed up. Through all the ups and downs I have so much good support and this is for everyone so thank you. I won this title for France and it doesn't happen very much!”
After a slow start to the Final, it was Florence that found the first score of significance with just over twenty minutes remaining with a long barrel that was rewarded with an 8.93. Flores answered with a 7.90 but a relaxed looking world champ was right behind him with a clean tube ride of his own for 7.23 and a solid heat lead. Flores was left searching for an 8.27 in order to claim his second Pipe Masters, but with limited opportunities the clock ran down. In the final seconds the Frenchman found an opportunity and the crowd waited anxiously for the result. The score came in and Flores stole the win from Florence, turning the heat with a thrilling buzzer-beater barrel.
“I almost got a Pipe Masters but I’m super stoked for Jeremy Flores,” Florence said. “That last wave was insane and this whole event has been amazing."
Florence previously dispatched world title contender Julian Wilson (AUS) (who finished out the year in third place) in the Quarterfinals and then, following news of his title clinching, the new WSL Champion went on to face Ian Gouveia (BRA) in the Semifinals before taking on Flores in the Final.
Gouveia built his scoreline in the Semifinal clash with two mid-range rides while Florence had only small scores. With one minute remaining Florence found the exit from a barrel and then landed an air rotation to steal the win with an 8.73. Gouveia answered seconds later but couldn’t complete the ride and was eliminated in third place.
Kanoa Igarashi (USA) faced eventual winner Flores in the second Semifinal. Igarashi kept busy through the opening half of his heat to hold the top spot but the Frenchman stayed patient and found the wave of the heat for an excellent 9.37. Flores backed it up with a smaller inside wave to move into first position, eliminating Igarashi who takes home a second consecutive Semifinal berth and moves to 17th place on the Jeep Leaderboard.
World title contender Gabriel Medina (BRA) finishes the year in second place on the Jeep Leaderboard with a 5th place finish at the Billabong Pipe Masters after being defeated by Flores in the Quarterfinals.
Medina’s season started out well with a third place finish at the season opener in Australia but a series of less than stellar results saw him slide down the rankings. A third place in South Africa, followed by a runner-up result in Tahiti and then back-to-back wins in Europe saw the young Brazilian rocket up the Jeep Leaderboard and into the world title race. The 23- year-old from Maresias, Sao Paulo became Brazil’s first WSL Champion when he clinched the title in 2014. Medina has been in the World Title race every year since his maiden World Title victory in 2014 (No. 3 on the Jeep Leaderboard in 2015 and 2016).
“2017 was a great year,” said Medina. “I had an injury at the beginning of the year which wasn’t great but I tried to do my best. I had some bad results but I also had some great results. I’m so tired right now because I put everything in the water. I just tried to never give up because there’s always a chance no matter what’s going on. That was a long year and it’s hard to deal with all the ups and downs so it was stressful. That’s all part of the game, you just have to do your best. My goal here was the final but I’m stoked everyone got to watch and I’m coming back for next year.”
11-time WSL Champion Kelly Slater (USA) was dispatched by Medina in Round 4 Heat 3. The Brazilian went all out in the battle against the American with two excellent-range scores, an 8.90 and a near-perfect 9.07. Slater charged into numerous tubes but was not able to escape a majority of his attempts. Stuck needing two new scores to overcome the 2014 WSL Champion, Slater was not able to answer and is eliminated in Equal 9th place.
WSL Jeep Leaderboard Top 5 (after Billabong Pipe Masters):
1 - John John Florence (HAW) 59,600 pts
2 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) 53,700 pts
3 - Julian Wilson (AUS) 48,650 pts
4 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 47,600 pts
5 - Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 40,700 pts
Billabong Pipe Masters Final Results:
1 - Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.23
2 - John John Florence (HAW) 16.16
Billabong Pipe Masters Semifinal Results:
SF 1: John John Florence (HAW) 12.56 def. Ian Gouveia (BRA) 12.33
SF 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.20 def. Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 11.33
Billabong Pipe Masters Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Ian Gouveia (BRA) 9.70 vs. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 8.40
QF 2: John John Florence (HAW) 17.60 vs. Julian Wilson (AUS) 2.64
QF 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.76 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 6.04
QF 4: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 9.57 def. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 8.67
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 5 Results:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.23 def. Conner Coffin (USA) 9.43
Heat 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.50 def. Caio Ibelli (BRA) 7.90
Heat 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.97 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 9.16
Heat 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 6.34 def. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 0.90
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Ian Gouveia (BRA) 11.73, Conner Coffin (USA) 1.23, Julian Wilson (AUS) 0.43
Heat 2: John John Florence (HAW) 13.17, Caio Ibelli (BRA) 12.87, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 4.53
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.37, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.10, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 7.57
Heat 4: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 12.44, Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 4.60, Kelly Slater (USA) 4.44
Comments
As much as I try to like Medina he keeps doing dog acts. Karma I reckon.
Great result JJF world tittle and Jeremys is one of the best tube riders on tour, although i think JJF barrels today were better and longer.
This the event of the last second buzzer Beater!
How many (single wave set) perfect barrel turned up in the last 20 seconds or so for a heat win this event.
I guess this is the thing "that Anticipation" what makes a surfing event so special" when it comes down to the buzzer and a wave turns up in time! you never know whats going to happen until it breaks..
Something I guess the wave pool events will never have!
Pure randomness joy or pain.
Is Medina the professional athlete that spectators and followers of the sport want to like and root for but just can't. He has such great ability and is awesome to watch but his win at ALL costs attitude and single minded focus just make him unlikable.
The best professional athletes understand that they must connect with their audience be that as a hero or evan a villain.
Medina is neither. Shame really that he just comes across as an asshole. Never heard another Pro say anything bad about him, the watching public though...
Memi and Caca - I'm sure your referring to the block he put on Slater - Slater would have done exactly the same. (remember the Parko incident)
I think its more the point that surfing isn't really a competitive sport ?
My thought is the greatest surfers aren't always the best competitors, kinda doesn't go together. Not sure if JJF would ever throw in a block, hopefully not.
I'm actually warming to Medina - his surfing is spectacular - just needs a good PR person behind him, not those nuff nuffs at RipCurl.
My thoughts are that it wasn't the block - every single surfer on the CT would do that same or they wouldn't be there - but the exra effort to shut Slater down. Really, a left fade at Backdoor to exploit your priority feels like a step too far.
Fact is, the non-priority surfer can ride a wave and be scored, but their ride ends when the priority surfer takes off - but the priority surfer has to, or at least should, be required to follow the dictates of the wave - i.e you can't go left at J'Bay to block a non-priority surfer.
Priority rules were established to keep the surfers separated but the way Medina has been using them - at Bells, Snapper, Pipe, and wherever else - he's actually going out of his way to interfere with the non-priority surfer.
I said it earlier, but I reckon there'll soon be an amendment put in place to curb this. If a contest is at a right hand point break a priority surfer can't go left, or vice versa, to interfere with a non-priority surfer - which in effect is what Medina did.
Not quite true Stu.
A non priority surfer and a priority surfer can surf the same wave, as long as the non priority surfer doesn't hinder the scoring potential of the priority surfer.
Slater and Wilko did it a few years back. Wilko had priority and burned Slater but Slater kept riding behind him and busted an air. Both got scored.
Not to mention our new surfing hero Mr griffin C!
Who last year booted a massive air behind I think KAndino to get the score and and get through the heat..
Yep, that's true BD. It's a subtle distinction but the wave doesn't technically end for the non-priority surfer as per the Wilko and Slater example - which made for an unreal photo:
And looking at that photo again the questions begs: What would Gabriel Medina have done?
He would've gone left.
Kelly himself even said recently that Machado should have flicked off and retained priority in the famous high five at pipe and probably cost him (Kelly) a title by doing so. When winning heats is what pays you and your teams wages then a pro actually has an obligation to more than himself in winning at all costs. That is the business they are in after all. That is probably why none of the other pros bag Medina out for his tactical choices.
On the other hand nice guys don't always finish last and JJF is testament to that fact. Ive never seen him surf live but have also never heard of him going tactical either.
Hey Tarz: Yep totally understand the obligation thing - just goes against the grain of sportsmanship - to me anyway :) And Kelly is what he is, and machado is what he is :)) whose to say who is better for it. To me tactics shouldn't come into it - beat the other guy through your surfing (and luck with waves). maybe thats old school but I prefer it that way. And yes never heard of JJF going tactical, although with his coaching it may happen :(
What do they call that - learning how to surf the CT :))
The big difference with Gabby's take off vs Slater's against Parko was that Gabby did it specifically to ruin Slater's wave. When Slater burned Joel at Kirra, he made the wave and got a score for it. Same goes for the Wilko vs Slater example in France - Wilko tried to get a score for himself, rather than trying to bump rails with Slater.
The only comparable situation I remember is Adriano on Jeremy at Snapper, where Adriano faded and literally let himself go over the falls so he would land on top of Jeremy and force an interference call. Medina appeared as though he tried to do the same thing at Pipe - but Slater being Slater was able to dodge him and make Gabby look quite the fool.
And for all those saying it is just part of the sport - need I remind you of what happened the last time someone forced and interference on Gabby?
Agree with all of the above. Hand on heart Medina is an awesome surfer yet I find myself cheering for everyone and anyone who comes up against him. I'm quite sure others on the tour hassle - you don't get to that level giving others your waves - but there's been way too many instances of him burning, interfering with and running over others. His step dad constantly hovering on the shoreline probably doesn't do his image any favours either. One thing I'll give him though, he doesn't seem to give a shit about his image.
You know those surfs you have where it's just a handful of the locals out, perfect fun waves, everyone taking turns, giving up waves, having a laugh and a generally great time. Then that one random guy comes out who no-one knows, doesn't say hello, doesn't wait their turn, sniffs around like it's 6ft Snapper with 300 people out, and generally fucks the whole vibe. That person's Gabe.
Where I'm from that dude gets told pretty quickly to back his bags.
Gabriel's backhand bottom turns in hollow rights have been a highlight of the tour for me this year. Great style on critical takeoffs setting up the tube. John's tube riding in this event has been what I've been rewinding, it seems like in slow motion at real-time speed - it's so perfect. I could fool myself that with a little zen and slowing down I could do something like that, but no, I'd get pitched.
just watched that GM move on KS - KS body language afterward says it all.
GM = Trevor Chappell
Yep - but as Trevor Chappell was a product of the rules, so is Gabriel.
And KS has done plenty, and more times than we can remember - so its a bit rich of him to be pissed. just saying...
Never surfed with him but can totally see Medina being that guy as Sprout says.
Agreed VJ his critical backhand bottom turn backside lip blast is incredible and the best in surfing right now.
Personally think the Dooma whitewash takeoff is the worst use of priority rules by a country mile...way worse than anything Gabby or Slater has done.
Trevor Chappell...well that is just another realm altogether...the most disgraceful sporting act in Australian history...made even worse that the blame was heaped on Trevor and not big brother Greg.
Actually surfed with him out at bells (Rincon) a few years back now, a little before the comp.
A nicer guy in the water you couldn't meet. Way better than some of the usual crew on mals :)
Wonder if he's the same in a surf away from a contest site?
The few people I know with an interaction with the tour, universally say he's a polite and respectful young kid.
Stu put it most succinctly, he goes beyond the rules, and I agree they will need to eliminate it happening - just like Hawthorns dog act in 2008 against the great Cats when they kept walking it through the goals for a point. Too scared to kick it out. Changed the rule the next year. There is competition and there is being an arsehole, Medina ‘is the latter I reckon. His old man must have a chip the size of Brasíl on his shoulder the way he carries on. Him against the world a great candidate for happy pills.
I think the priority rule should not apply unless the priority holder is within 5 metres of the other surfer when paddling for a wave or if the surfer without priority has been up and riding a wave for more than 2 to 3 seconds. ( I guess 1 good thing about wave pool comps is thy will eliminate this crappy situation.)
What about how dangerous that sort of move is.......easily go pear shaped and someone gets badly hurt....especially at pipe.
With all this talk about sportsmanship, I have a question to you Aussies: I assume that quite a few of you are cricket fans; how do you live with the actions of the Aussie cricket team?
I'm not trolling, simply trying to figure out what's important to people and what isn't. Is using the WSL rule book to block an opponent worse than super ugly sledging? Worse than 150kph bouncers?
Disclaimer: While I mostly find Aussie sportsmen/teams fair and honourable, I have a real problem with your cricketers.
I'm not a fan of Bouncers to the tail end.
Haven't really followed what's been said in the sledging.
As stated above, it's the sitting out of position, fading back away from the direction of the wave toward someone in the barrel and then asking for an interference with his arms out. Where Kelly dropped in on Parko, he was still in a high scoring section of the bank holding priority, took off and still got a good barrel.
At Bells in 14, Gabe waited down the end of the bowl for Bede to surf to him so he could pick and choose which waves to shut down his scoring potential. Then when he enforced his priority he was waving his hands for priority before he was barely standing up while fading toward Bede looking for contact. Then he kicked out as soon as Bede was off the wave. Ugly
Then when he got an interference against Micro he had a post interview tanty.
I've tried to like him, but I can't.
Meanwhile Felipe has done some stupid stuff like getting suspended this year, but he admits to it and carries himself in a very likeable manner.
Bring back Merv Hughes type cricketers
"I'll bowl you a fugn piano - see if you can play that!" Excellent Merv Hughes quote :-)
Maybe just a change in the priority rule would fix the drop-in because I've got priority thing ,that looks so bad when you are watching a heat. Something like a paddling priority that gives you priority if your in the takeoff area with your opponents. If your not and they are up and riding there's no droppin-in. Sure it probably need some tweaks but it's gotta be better than the current rule. After all when I started surfing some 50 years ago, I got told the number one rule you should always stick to is NO Drop-in .
Further to the above debate about Gabs blocking move, Slater has posted his thoughts, even saying there was a possibility Gabriel could've been the one penalised for intentionally blocking him.
He cited this rule:
Unsportsmanlike Interference 154.09: Using Priority
An interference can be called on a Surfer with Priority if, in the opinion of the Priority or Head Judge, the Surfer utilises their priority in an unsportsmanlike manner to intentionally block another surfer with lower or no Priority outside of the Primary Take-off Zone.
The crucial phrase is the last one, "outside of the Primary Take-off Zone." It was also that phrase that was added after Gabriel employed unsporting priority blocking at Bells against Bede.
In this instance its debatable whether Medina was outside the primary take-off area. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, outside the area where he couold've gone left, but that still doesn't leave him clearly in breach of the rule.
Wow, that's amazing that an organization changed their rules to work against one of their employees!
I thought that only happened in mining companies and governments!!
Should Kelly have been penalized for blocking Parko?
If it was a free surfing incident then it would definitely warrant a punch in the head (or worse at Pipe!)
It's a good rule. The commentators mentioned it at the time.
Kelly was in the primary take off zone and still got a decent score off the wave.