A Pair Of California Brothers Are Making History On The Championship Tour
Colapinto Boys Storm MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal
Growing up surfing together in the Southern California beach town of San Clemente, Griffin and Crosby Colapinto are quickly asserting themselves as a force to reckon with on the 2024 WSL Championship Tour. With his win at the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal at Supertubos, Griffin moves into the number one spot on the WSL leaderboard and takes over the yellow leader's jersey, while Crosby's sensational rookie season continues with a third-place finish in Peniche and a number ten ranking on the WSL Leaderboard. In terms of historical precedent, they're the highest rated pair of brothers on the Championship Tour in over 20 years. One has to go back to 2001 when CJ Hobgood won the world title and brother Damien finished the season ranked tenth, to see this kind of brotherly dominance.
Surfers: Griffin and Crosby Colapinto
“I was so invested in what he was doing that I felt like I was surfing twice as many heats,” Griffin Colapinto explained about watching his brother, Crosby, compete in Portugal. In 2023, Griffin finished the year ranked number three in the world and his brother was there for him every step of the way. This year Crosby is a rookie on tour and the two have been in lockstep together since pre-season training sessions in Hawaii. Trusting the process, the work is paying off with big results in Europe.
Surfer: Griffin Colapinto
“I had a hip surgery in the offseason and it took me almost three months to get back in the water," Colapinto continued. "I put so much effort in and I thought it would pay off right away but in Hawaii I got two ninths. Sometimes you just have to trust it, now I have a win so I’m psyched.”
Surfer: Crosby Colapinto
For Crosby Colapinto, his semifinal appearance at the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal signifies a clear step forward in his career and establishes him as an early Rookie of the Year contender. It also means he stands a really strong chance at making the mid-season cut that's coming up after the Australian leg. Graduating to the Championship Tour lifelong friends in Kade Matson and Cole Houshmand, they're both currently below the cut line and will have a lot of work to do over the next month.
Surfer: Griffin Colapinto
Blocking out all distractions, Colapinto has implemented meditation into his pre-contest routine. Focusing his mind, quieting his nerves, the practice is clearly working for him.
Surfer: Griffin Colapinto
One of the best waves of the entire event, Colapinto racked up a near perfect 9-points score for this long, draining, left-hand tube ride.
Surfer: Griffin Colapinto
Chaired up the beach by his brother, Crosby, and fellow Californian Jake Marshall, Colapinto has given much to cheer about for American surfers. In a sport that's so often dominated by Australians and Brazilians, Colapinto is the first bonafide world title contender since the reign of 11-time world champ Kelly Slater.
Surfer: Johanne Defay
France's Johanne Defay took the win on the women's side of the event, besting two-time world champ Tyler Wright. It was Defay's sixth career Championship Tour win and her first in Europe. She now sits ranked number two in the world after bouncing back from an injury-plagued season last year.
Surfer: Johanne Defay
“It’s overwhelming,” Defay said after the win. “Waves changed and the swell arrived for sure, I think we both had similar strategies and maybe we both had boards a little bit small for these waves. I focused on the lefts obviously and was looking for two turns but in the end one was enough.”
Surfer: Tyler Wright
For Wright, the finals appearance was a return to form after some offseason health issues. “It’s amazing, I feel like this has been a really key point for my year,” Wright explained after the final. “It’s taken me a while to figure out some of the different changes that I’ve had going on. I’m really excited to be in Portugal, honestly, this is me and my wife’s favorite event all year, so thank you Portugal for having us, I really enjoyed myself.”
Surfer: Tyler Wright
Wright had a chance to overtake Defay in the final when she found a big set wave and hammered a top turn. Unable to complete the ride, she ultimately settled for second place and now sits eighth on the leader board.
Surfer: Ethan Ewing
Now in second in the rankings, less than a thousand points Colapinto, Australia's Ethan Ewing continues to be a force on the Championship Tour. “It was super cool to surf the Final with Griffin, we’re really good friends,” Ewing said after the final. “We haven’t had that many man-on-man heats together but they’re always super fun. When I came to Portugal I was really unhappy with my surfing but just to kind of pull through that and the cold water and the long travel was great.”
Supertubos Crowd
Saturday morning at Peniche, Portugal. Yeah, there are a few surf fans there.
Surfer: Gabriel Medina
Brazil's Gabriel Medina looked like a strong contender to take the win in Portugal, but his run was cut short when Griffin Colapinto dispatched him in the semifinals. Nevertheless, finding his rhythm in Portugal, he's going to be tough to stop as he continues to build momentum.
Surfer: Lakey Peterson
California's Lake Peterson was another bright spot for the American contingent. Surfing her way all the way to the semifinals, her run was cut short by Defay. The result keeps Peterson in tenth on the leaderboard, just above the cut line.
Surfer: Jake Marshall
Jake Marshall went down to Crosby Colapinto in an all-California quarterfinal duel. Continuing to show maturity and a keen eye for the game, Marshall started making noise in Hawaii but really turned up the volume in Portugal. A solid pointbreak surfer, he should be able to continue pumping up the jam Down Under.
California's Colapinto Takes Over World No. 1 In Statement-Making Portugal Win
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.