Owen Wright has won the Tahiti Pro Teahupo’o stop number seven on the World Surf League Championship Tour, in six to eight-foot conditions at the world-famous reef pass.
The rematch of the 2018 final with Gabriel Medina was one for the books with some the best conditions since 2014.
Owen Wright claimed his first event win in Tahiti after defeating Medina, the two-time WSL Champion and defending Tahiti Pro winner.
This was Wright’s first Championship victory since the 2017 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, when the Australian inspired the world with his incredible comeback from a traumatic brain injury he suffered at Pipeline in 2015.
“I can’t be happier,” said Wright. “Gabby (Medina) was always going to be the toughest matchup, and I had no priority, and I snuck into those few on the inside. I tried to get as deep as possible and still make it. I teared up out there when the hooter went. I’ve been working hard, and I am stoked to win.”
In a rematch of last year’s Tahiti Pro Final, goofyfoots Wright and Medina battled once again at Teahupo’o but this time in heavy barrels. After a slow start, the heat turned into a barrel shoot-out at the twenty-minute mark and saw both surfers go wave for wave. Medina broke away with a 7.83 (out of a possible 10) and backed it up with a second 7-point ride, but Wright fought back with his own 7.73, only needing a 7.21 to win with eight minutes left. Under priority, Wright scored a near-perfect 9.17 to steal the title from Medina.
“I said I wanted Gabby in the Final just to have that rematch and it was such a special time last year,” continued Wright. “The waves were just so perfect, and to share that with a great mate was special. When you come out here, and in your first heat, you get a 10, it makes things feel like things are coming. I haven’t won since Snapper, and it has been so long. I won so early back then in my recovery, and it has been so up-and-down, and it has finally felt up and up and up in the last few months. I’ve tried to win this event a lot of times, and it is amazing to get that today finally.”
