I feel sorry for Filipe Toledo. I think he reached a breaking point, a point of no return. It's like he had other situations like this but he was able to hide them better, probably because he wasn't a two-time world champion... The bigger he gets, the more attention they'll pay to him and the bigger the "butterflies in the stomach" will become, as Strider Wasilewski said about him in the middle of the series.

In those 30 minutes at Pipe, there were several moments in which he could have gone and didn't, Strider himself, sitting in the channel, pointed this out... He missed opportunities, he added 1,77. The world champion at Pipe is perfect... The supposed current king of surfing in the queen of the waves not living up to his title.

One of the comments on Instagram on DUKE wrote: “The worst world champion ever”… It’s a difficult thing to say, it will be for the person who made the comment, but at least it’s a valid question. There were world champions who didn’t win a single championship in the year they lifted the trophy; it’s a valid answer in favour of Filipe.

I do think it is sad that a world champion cannot show all his talent on the wave that makes surfing the ultimate glory. It does not do justice to his title and in some way takes away prestige from both: the title and the one who holds it.

It makes me sad because it’s clear that the issue has affected him. He got out of the water and two hours later he had, he said, food poisoning and couldn’t surf… And for many he sent a quick message to the haters… It’s like David Lee Scales said, who is emphatic in not believing him: He got food poisoning there, why didn’t anyone else do it, how did it all happen in two hours and a long reasoning that seems to make sense. But it really doesn’t matter if that was true or not, only Filipe knows and he’s not a fool, if he did it it was for a reason; it’s like the one in Teahupoo who didn’t ride waves to protect himself for the final and then won another world championship.

He's not a fool at all. A liar? I have no idea, I'm not interested. What I do care about is whether he has what it takes, what the vast majority of world champions have had since 1976 when the tour was created, to ride the queen of the waves. But he has shown that he doesn't have it.

And, also like Strider said, I would love to see him get over this roller coaster and see him sink tubes like a mental patient at Pipe.

Will it happen?

-Thiago Passeri showing off in Flopos: https://dukesurf.com/thiago-passeri-luzandose-en-flopos/

-All about Bikini with Nacho Pignataro: https://dukesurf.com/all-about-bikini-with-nacho-pignataro/

-Pukas made it to his fifth Stab in the Dark final: https://dukesurf.com/pukas-made-it-to-his-fifth-stab-in-the-dark-final/

-Strider Wasilewski on Toledo: “He needs to get those butterflies out of his stomach”: https://dukesurf.com/strider-wasilewski-sobre-toledo-tiene-que-sacarse-esas-mariposas-del-estomago/

-“The featured surfer has not replaced anyone on the Rip Curl team and is not a sponsored athlete”: https://dukesurf.com/the-featured-surfer-has-not-replaced-anyone-on-the-rip-curl-team-and-is-not-a-sponsored-athlete/

-El Salvador will once again host the ISA World Longboard Championship: https://dukesurf.com/el-salvador-will-once-host-the-isa-world-longboard-championship/

-Filipe did not show up for his heat due to food poisoning, the WSL reported: https://dukesurf.com/filipe-did-not-show-up-for-his-heat-due-to-food-poisoning-the-wsl-reported/

-Wind for aerials with John John, Jack, Gabriel and more: https://dukesurf.com/wind-for-aerials-with-john-john-jack-gabriel-and-more/

-Second tube of the month: With Alan Cleland on a Californian beach break: https://dukesurf.com/second-tube-of-the-month-with-alan-cleland-on-a-californian-beach-break/

-January in Cabo Blanco: https://dukesurf.com/january-in-cabo-blanco/

-Tubing day at Supertubos: https://dukesurf.com/dia-de-tubazos-en-supertubos/

-Too heavy even for the Florence brothers: https://dukesurf.com/too-heavy-even-for-the-florence-brothers/

-Report from Hawaii with Caio Ibelli and his gang of friends: https://dukesurf.com/report-from-hawaii-with-caio-ibelli-and-his-gang-of-friends/

-Good surfing with Eithan Osborne at home: https://dukesurf.com/good-surfing-with-eithan-osborne-at-home/

-For surfing like this he qualified for the CT: Sawyer Lindblad in Indo: https://dukesurf.com/for-surfing-like-this-he-qualified-for-the-ct-sawyer-lindblad-in-indo/

-The tube of the month: Conor Donegan in El Quemao: https://dukesurf.com/the-tube-of-the-month-conor-donegan-in-el-quemao/

-"Gabriel Medina: If you go, I'll go," says John John: https://dukesurf.com/gabriel-medina-si-tu-vas-yo-voy-dice-john-john/

-Eala Stewart: “It was probably the worst hit I took at Pipe”: https://dukesurf.com/it-was-probably-the-worst-hit-I-took-at-pipe/

-Alan Cleland placed second in Pismo and rose to first place in the ranking: https://dukesurf.com/alan-cleland-placed-second-in-pismo-and-rose-to-first-place-in-the-ranking/

-"One of the best tubeless sessions I've ever witnessed": https://dukesurf.com/one-of-the-best-tubeless-sessions-I-have-ever-witnessed/

-How to destroy a drone in Pipe in 3, 2, 1…: https://dukesurf.com/how-to-destroy-a-drone-in-pipe-in-3-2-1/

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