Johanne Defay and Filipe Toledo have won the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro, the sixth stop on the World Surf League CT and the final event before surfings debut on the Olympic stage in Tokyo next month.
In her heat, Johanne Defay defeated the inform and reigning four-time champion Carissa Moore by less than half a point in a hard-fought final. The pair of Olympic qualifiers traded eight-point rides, but Defay jumped into the excellent range with an 8.7 that sealed the victory.
“Johanne was so ready to win,’ said Moore. “She is truly the queen of the pool, always knowing what to do. She has very good timing, and it was really good to see her winning today.”
Carissa Moore remains world number one and has officially clinched her spot in the WSL final five, where she will compete for the title in September as part of the WSL’s new final structure.
“It feels great,” said Moore. “It was a big goal for me at the start of the year to make it to the top 5, to compete in the Rip Curl WSL Finals, so I’m really excited about it. It feels great to know I qualified, but there is still a lot of work to be done if I want to be the world champion.”
Filipe Toledo once again was in form in the men’s heat, storming his way to victory with a dominant performance throughout the Jeep Ranch Pro. Toledo faced off against countrymen Gabriel Medina in a rematch of the previous two events and setting the stage once again for the all Brazillian Final.
“This is my third CT final at the Surf Ranch, and the last two times Gabriel beat me,” said Toledo. “It feels really good to take the win this time. Gabriel has been putting on a show the entire year and is already in the WSL Final 5 at Trestles, so winning against him means a lot to me.”
Gabriel Medina has also secured his clinched his spot in the WSL final five and was undefeated at the Surf Ranch until today, having won the event in 2018, 2019.
“Surf Ranch contests are always fun because you have great waves,” said Medina. “Here, you have the pressure that makes everything more interesting. Felipe and I always have good battles here. He is my favourite surfer to watch.”
The Worlds best are now off to Tokyo for the Olympics, and competition will resume on the shores of Mexico for the Corona Open Mexico presented by Quicksilver from August 10-20
