Medina won again and is the first guaranteed player in the Lowers finals

Fitzgibbons wins women's event to top 5; Brazil sweeps Australia

May 25, 2021

Photos: WSL/Miers-Dunbar

If they hadn't changed the definition of the world title with the finals that will take place at Lower Trestles in September, half (or more) of the planet would already be saying that the world title belongs to Medina.

Of five events, the Brazilian won two, made two finals and placed ninth in another, achieving a total score in the ranking of 38920 points, leaving his closest follower, Italo Ferreira, who had a good Australian leg, with 30235 points.

But more interesting is to see that with almost half of his points is third place Jordy Smith (22505). Medina's dominance this year is the greatest of his career.

And Medina's dominance, which is evident in the rankings, was even more evident in the water today. He outscored Italo Ferreira, who was always a thorn in his side, twice as many points in the semis (13,7 to 7,17) and did the same with Morgan Cibilic in the grand final.

The young Australian completed the top 5 who are now qualifying for the grand final.

Here is the men's ranking:
1 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) 38,920 pts
2 – Italo Ferreira (BRA) 30,325 pts
3 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 22,505 pts
4 - Filipe Toledo (BRA) 22,065 pts
5 - Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 21,290 pts

Good fundamentals in heavy waves are the key to Sally's victory. Photos: WSL/Miers-Dunbar

Meanwhile, in the women's competition, Sally Fitzgibbons, who has shown inconsistency after being a three-time WSL world vice-champion, made good use of her fundamentals to beat France's Johanne Defay in the grand final, attacking heavy sections and flowing from one manoeuvre to the next.

Defay, who had beaten Carissa Moore in the semis, scored 11,23 but could not beat 15,24.

The victory left the Australian second in the rankings and the top 5 was as follows:
1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 36,055 pts
2 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 28,185 pts
3 - Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 27,540 pts
4 – Tyler Wright (AUS) 26,050 pts
5 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 24,645 pts
5 - Johanne Defay (FRA) 24,645 pts

The tour now moves on to the Slater pool stage from June 18-20, after several of the best have passed through the ISA World Championships in El Salvador.

Youngster Morgan Cibilic is in the top 5, if everything continues like this he will make it to the WSL grand finals.

Italo has been able to beat Medina on more than one occasion, but this time he was far behind. He is, however, the two-time world champion's closest second.

Full results of the day
Female final
1 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.24
2 - Johanne Defay (FRA) 11.23

men's final
1 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.50
2 - Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 7.87

Women's semis
HEAT 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.43 beat Tyler Wright (AUS) 7.64
HEAT 2: Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.50 defeated Carissa Moore (HAW) 12.83

Men's semis
HEAT 1: Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 10.67 defeated Liam O'Brien (AUS) 8.33
HEAT 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.70 defeated Italo Ferreira (BRA) 7.17