It’s been nearly nine months since we had some surfing content to talk about and some competition to watch and today Coco Ho and Filipe Toledo have taken out the Michelob Ultra Pure Gold Rumble at the Ranch.
The one day, winner takes all competition in the perfect waves at the Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California saw 16 of the best surfers paired up for the first-ever mixed tag team event with prize money going to charity.
An inspiring performance from Ho and Toledo saw them defeat Olympic qualifiers Tatiana Weston Webb and Kanoa Igarashi to take the event title thanks to a near-perfect wave from Toledo (9.67 out of a possible 10) and the highest scoring wave of the day. The winning pair nominated Surfrider Foundation’s LA Chapter as the recipients of a $10,000 charitable donation in their name.
Ho and Toledo powered through the field to reach the final, defeating Alyssa Spencer and Kolohe Andino in the Quarters and then eliminating Sage Erickson and Kelly Slater in the Semi-Finals.
“It was fun out there today, and it felt good,” said Slater. “It’s different because there’s not so much on the line, but there’s a little bit of that competitive feeling there. Sage and I have been having fun and having some practice sessions, getting ready and talking about our game plan.”
Igarashi and Weston Webb dominated their opening matchups, with two of the highest heat totals of the day, sending home Lakey Peterson and Griffin Colapinto in the Quarterfinals, followed by Caroline Marks and Adriano de Souza in the Semi-Final.
However, the pair fell short in the final and weren’t able to post in the excellent range required to take the win.
“We all compete to have those situations where we get to perform under pressure, and that’s what I’ve been missing the most these past few months,” said Igarashi. “I got my dose over the last couple of hours. It’s an epic format, and Tati has been surfing so good.
We’re sitting at the edge of our couches waiting to get the world back surfing and some great action undertaken in 2021 and bring it to you all here.
