Yago Dora wins the Saquarema stage with spectacular aerials and takes second place in the world
Despite a cold and rainy day in Saquarema, Yago Dora set the mood ablaze by becoming champion of the sixth stage of the WSL, the World Surfing Circuit. The current world champion defeated Italian Leonardo Fioravanti, who now leads the general rankings, with a score of 15.00 against 13.37. With this triumph, Dora rose to second place in the standings, behind only Fioravanti. Brazilians Ítalo Ferreira, Gabriel Medina (eliminated in the debut in Saquarema), Miguel Pupo and Samuel Pupo complete the top 6, highlighting the country’s strength on the global sports scene.
The strategy adopted by the Italian surfer, the first from his nation to top a world ranking, was similar to that used in the semi-final. He tried to surf the first waves of the heat to accumulate points and quickly take the lead in the competition. Fioravanti managed to score 8.17 points, with partials of 5.67 and 2.50. After 13 minutes, Yago performed an impressive aerial, which received a rating of 8.50 and brought the audience to its feet.
Minutes later, halfway through the contest, Dora performed another aerial, rated at 6.50, bringing her total score to 15.00. At that crucial moment, Fioravanti now needed 9.33 points to overcome the Brazilian. With five minutes to go, the Italian risked an excellent aerial, but without complete rotation, earning 7.50. In the final moments, he needed 7.51 to turn the score around, but he couldn’t find a suitable wave to execute the maneuver.
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João Chianca does not advance to the final at home
Surfer João Chianca, who is local to Saquarema, entered the sea and enjoyed the enthusiastic support of the public, who turned out in large numbers at Praia de Itaúna, despite the rainy weather. Even with his in-depth knowledge of the place, it was Leonardo Fioravanti who took the lead on the drums from the beginning.
The Italian competitor managed to find two good left waves, totaling 13 points (with scores of 7.00 and 6.00), which put him in the lead. Chumbinho, who obtained 6.27 points in one of his waves, needed a score close to 7 to guarantee his place in the final, but he was not successful and was eliminated from the sixth stage of the World Surfing Circuit.
American Sawyer Lindblad wins women’s stage in Saquarema
In the female category, American athlete Sawyer Lindblad, aged 20, was victorious after defeating young Frenchwoman Tya Zebrowski, just 15 years old. The final was notable for the tactics adopted in choosing the waves, in a rough and challenging sea for the competitors. Lindblad secured the title with a score of 7.67 against 6.10. The highest score in the battery was achieved by the American, with 3.90, complemented by a 3.77. Tya, meanwhile, recorded scores of 2.63 and 3.47.
With the update of the women’s world ranking, Gabriela Bryan occupies the lead with 35,065 points. Hawaiian Carissa Moore is right behind, with 33.490 points. Lindblad rose to third place, scoring 32,970 points. Brazilian Luana Silva, who was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Saquarema, is in fourth place, with 31.835 points.
