“Lately It Has Been Even More Shocking”: Hours After Suffering Massive Disappointment, 3x World Champ Raises a Long-Standing Issue in Surfing

3-time WSL World Champion Gabriel Medina has massive achievements under his belt. The 29-year-old has received 17 WSL Championship Tour event wins, making him a highly experienced surfer. However, despite his great surfing prowess, the Brazilian surfer saw a shocking exit from the Surf Pro Ranch on May 29. Disheartened by WSL’s judging system, Medina voiced his opinion asking the panel to revisit its judgment.  

Yesterday, Gabriel Medina took to his Instagram to publicly scrutinize WSL’s system of judging surfers in competition. He threw light upon how the organization has adhered to faulty ways of reaching conclusions at championships.

What happened with Gabriel Medina at the Surf Ranch Pro 2023?

During the quarterfinal of the championship, Medina faced Australian surfer, Ethan Ewing. While competing, both surfers finished the heat with 16.67 points. However, a series of decisions followed and Ewing was declared the winner because he surfed on a high single wave. Nevertheless, the surfing community also frowned on the final results that ended in Griffin Colapinto’s favor, leaving behind opponent Italo Ferreira. 

Frustrated by the sight of unjust decisions, Medina shared an Instagram post, along with a long note. He began his grievance by expressing his love for the sport. As he proceeded, he pointed at the long-existing faulty judging system. Medina added, “However, the surfing community, especially in Brazil, has been mesmerized by the poor clarity and inconsistency of judging for many years now, but lately, it has been even more shocking.”

Medina told that presently, the subpar judging system has become more evident. He explained that the WSL is favoring simple surfing strategies and neglecting the critical tricks in the waves. This was something that highly frustrated the surfer. Stating the problems, he emphasized that the surfing fans and sponsors would not tolerate the injustice any longer. He wrote that the WSL’s concerned authority must work on improving fair judging practices to help progress the sport.

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The results of Surf Pro Ranch were indeed very shocking for Gabriel Medina because he was rooting for the top spot this year.

Gabriel Medina’s made a comeback this year

29-year-old Medina saw a string of ups and downs due to his personal and medical issues in 2022’s World Championship Tour. After a disappointing run last year, he participated in this year’s Margaret River Pro in Western Australia. Although he had a slow start, he ultimately managed to reach the finals.

While facing Griffin Colapinto, the 3-time WSL champion scored an 8.5 and 9 in the heat. Although Medina’s competitor tried hard to overtake him, he was unsuccessful. This made the 29-year-old emerge as the ultimate champion. Moreover, it also suggested that Medina was dedicatedly in the run to win the world title this year.

Evidently, Medina is heartbroken by his defeat at the Surf Pro Ranch. Hopefully, the WSL will have an answer for him and the millions of fans who feel the same as the star surfer.

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