USA's Carissa Moore and Griffin Colapinto top world rankings ahead of 2023 ISA World Surfing Games
USA star surfers moved up the rankings on the eve of their appearance at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games, with a defeated but not discouraged Brazilian team ready to challenge them again in El Salvador, this time for world titles. Watch the action live on Olympics.com.
Surfing
Olympic champion Carissa Moore and Team USA's spirited rebel Griffin Colapinto won the last World Surf League stage on the eve of the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games to head into the annual competition as the new world No.1.
The Surf Ranch Pro in California was the last stop on the World Championship Tour for the athletes before they compete for world titles in Surf City El Salvador.
A live stream of the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games, which run from 30 May to 7 June and serve as an Olympic qualifier in surfing, will be available on Olympics.com.
- How to qualify for surfing at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained
- Riding the waves in El Salvador: A preview of the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games
- Carissa Moore, Caroline Marks, John John Florence and Griffin Colapinto: How to watch USA’s star surfers at 2023 ISA World Surfing Games
Carissa Moore: Back on top
Five-time World Surf League champion Moore heads to El Salvador in top form, having won the last two stages of the World Championship Tour, and a total of three so far this season.
In the final at Surf Ranch, Moore came head-to-head with her teammate and fellow 2023 ISA World Surfing Games competitor Caroline Marks. The two last faced each other in a World Surf League final in 2019, with Moore also winning that matchup.
Following Surf Ranch Pro, Marks remains as world No.4, while the previous world No.1 Tyler Wright of Australia has dropped to second place.
Griffin Colapinto: Fresh talent
In the men's final, Colapinto beat Olympic champion Italo Ferreira by a margin of 0.64 points. It was his third final and first win of the season.
The USA surfer was the runner-up in the previous stage of the tour, Margaret River, where he lost to Brazil’s Gabriel Medina. In a turn of events, Colapinto beat three of Medina’s teammates in his ascent to the top at Surf Ranch: Yago Dora, Filipe Toledo, and Ferreira.
Colapinto's win in California also pushed another Brazilian, Joao Chianca, out of his No.1 position. Chianca is now second in the rankings and could face his USA rival this week at the World Surfing Games.