Since the 2023 Surf Ranch Pro, American surfing star Griffin Colapinto has been the talk of the town. In May, he won by the narrowest of margins, defeating Brazilian surfer Filipe Toledo. This resulted in a great deal of uproar in the community, with many Brazilian fans and several players displeased by the WSL’s decision. However, all the controversy surrounding the Surf Ranch Pro faded away when Griffin Colapinto, won his quarterfinal heat against Australia’s Connor O’Leary in the recent El Salvador quarterfinal. In light of the World Surf League’s statement, as well as Colapinto’s win, El Salvador’s reigning champion has undeniably shown why he is ranked first.

The WSL sent their own congratulations to Colapinto after his El Salvador quarterfinal win against O’Leary. The fact that the American surfer is on his way to winning and defending his title at the championship also helped the post get a lot of attention online.

The heat showcased the prowess of the world’s number 1 surfer

The El Salvador 2023 quarterfinals have begun. Griffin Colapinto, of the United States, is defending his El Salvador championship against Connor O’Leary, of Australia, who is ranked 12th in the World Surf League. Colapinto knew that, even though he is the number one surfer in the world, anything might happen during the world championship.

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Colapinto impressed the judges with his surfing skills after just three waves. The American surfer’s combined score of 15.67 points came from scores of 8.17 and 7.50, his two highest individual scores. Unfortunately for O’Leary, his total of 14.26 (7.93 + 6.33) was not even close to the American surfer’s score. Colapinto easily advanced to the semifinals of the El Salvador tournament, where he would face off against the other semifinalist.

Despite a rough start to the year in the Billabong Pro Pipeline, where he lost to Leonardo Fioravanti, Colapinto has been dominant this year. Since then, the American surfer has consistently performed at a high level in his heats, and he has even won one event, propelling him to the top of the WSL standings. His victory against  Toledo in the El Salvador contest the year before, was also noteworthy.

A surfing moment he would always cherish

On June 17, 2022, in Punta Roca, El Salvador, Colapinto and Toledo engaged in a fierce 40-minute duel seen around the surfing globe. Even though Toledo had an 80% probability of winning the finals, anything can happen in the high-pressure environment of surfing.

With 9.57 + 6.43, Toledo finished with 16 points. On the other side, Colapinto had a 9 throughout the waves he was given, and one of them still had space for the surfer. He scored an 8 under intense scrutiny, and his total of 17 points was enough to win the 2022 El Salvador competition. The surfer looks back on this as a defining experience in his life, and he still treasures the moment.

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