“Just Extra Special”: Moments After Rocking South African WSL Event, Reigning Surfing World Champion Achieves Rare Feat

Filipe Toledo is the guy who has the surfing world buzzing right now. A small cartilage injury sustained during the 2023 Vivo Rio Pro left the Brazilian surfer struggling, but he has since recovered totally. Defeating Australian surfer Ethan Ewing by a massive margin and a near 10-point score, Toledo won the Corona Open J-Bay and brought honor to his nation while maintaining the yellow jersey in his possession. Despite all he’s accomplished this week, the surfer was shocked to learn that he’d qualified to represent Brazil in the 2024 Paris Olympics in the surfing contest in Teahupo’o.

After the surfer won the Corona Open J-Bay, the WSL made the official announcement. The current surfing world champion was undoubtedly taken aback, but he opened up to the interviewer about his feelings about the incredible accomplishment.

Smashing just more than records in the surfing world

Teahupo’o would be the site of the Olympic surfing competition in 2024. Despite the WSL Championship Tour, this event would be one of the most anticipated surfing competitions of 2024. While most of the world’s top surfers were shut out of Teahupo’o, Olympic hopeful Filipe Toledo has already received an invitation. After winning the Corona Open J-Bay, the 2022 Surfing World Champion found out this news and was completely shocked. When asked to describe his accomplishment, he referred to it as the “top of the top that we can reach on a sport.”

ALSO READ – “Think About Giving Up”: Hours After Capturing Big Moment, World Champion Surfer Gets Candid About His Career

“Winning a world title” is commendable, he said, “but being an Olympic athlete is just extra special.” The 2023 World Surf League championship is now Toledo’s top priority, but he plans to shift his attention to Olympic preparation after the 2023 season concludes so that he may fulfill his dream of representing Brazil in the Olympics and “win another medal” for his country.

The Brazilian surfer has some ambitious goals, but he has already overcome several obstacles on his path and is thus unafraid of taking on even greater difficulties.

Filipe Toledo’s 2023 season so far

Toledo’s 2023 WSL season has been nothing but ups and downs. He has seen everything from a first-round knockout to the raising of trophies. The Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca beat him in the Billabong Pro Pipeline by 0.60 points. But he made up for it in the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach, when he defeated American phenom Griffin Colapinto in a dominant victory.

Toledo won the Surf City El Salvador Pro and the yellow jersey after a lengthy layoff and a pair of podium finishes. The surfer was defeated badly in the Vivo Rio Pro, held in his native country, but he bounced back to win the Corona Open J-Bay. At the moment, Toledo has 54,980 points and is leading the Championship by a comfortable margin.

WATCH THIS STORY – “I’d like to see the books”: Surfing Hall-of-famer questions WSL on choice of major sponsorships