Moments After Dropping a Perfect Performance at Rio Pro, 5x World Surfing Champion Secures a Spot at WSL Finals

The World Surf League’s 2023 iteration in Brazil is missing no opportunities to amaze the spectators. Considered a sport just limited to the beaches and Hollywood, surfing has been making huge waves in recent years. The adrenaline-packed sport made its official debut in the Olympic world at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. While the event is getting its fair share of publicity, the person enjoying the most attention, however, is none other than the five-time world surfing champion, Carissa Moore. Building upon her passion for surfing inherited from her dad, Moore is the best in class when it comes to charging into the ocean and taming the waves. While her style and endurance are formidable in their own merit, the Hawaiian’s greatest asset is her consistency.

According to the athlete bio of Carissa Moore on the official website of the Olympics, “The Hawaii-born star writes her own superlatives with every performance.” Currently, at number 1 in the world rankings, Moore emerged as the Gold Medal winning surfer in the first surfing event held in the Tokyo Olympics. 

Moore Confirms Her Berth in the WSL Finals

The red-hot competition at the 2023 Rio Pro event of the World Surf League has reached its quarter-final stage. Making her way to the quarter-finals, Moore, the world’s no. 1 surfer, went against a fellow Hawaiian surfer who currently holds the 8th position in the world, Bettylou Sakura Johnson. Both surfers exhibited an excellent display of their caliber, triumphing wave after wave in every round, with the lead changing multiple times.

One key difference between the two surfers clearly stood out right from the start of the first round. The 18-year-old Johnson, who is a rising star in the world of surfing, made a prompt exit from the waters when the waves she rode ceased. On the other hand, Moore lingered on her surfboard for a longer time, looking out for any amount of help the dying waves could offer.

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While the skills of both these women were on par with each other, this difference in approach led to Moore’s victory. Johnson made an early exit from the waters, and Moore immediately capitalized on her chance and hammered consecutive vicious turns to clinch her berth at the finals.

Moore’s Delight Entering the Finals

While being interviewed about her contest with Johnson, Moore humbly said, “She definitely made me work for that one” and “I look forward to our battles for years to come.” Moore expressed her happiness after winning and said that this was one of her monumental goals, which one slowly tries to bite away throughout the year. 

Moore has been on a dream run for quite some time now. She was the winner in the last two stages of the World Championship tour and has already claimed a total of three victories under her belt this season thus far. Will Carisa Moore emerge as the best surfer one more time and bag another championship?

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