There’s a well-worn piece of wisdom on the pro-surfing circuit: the year you win a title often ends up the most draining of your life.
In the past 24 days, world champions Filipe Toledo, Stephanie Gilmore and Carissa Moore have walked away, taking no less than 15 world titles with them.
For all the glamour of being paid to travel the world, surfing five-star waves with one other person in the line-up before an audience of millions, the tour can be tough.
The addition of extra Olympics-centred qualifying events now amounts to all but eight weeks living out of a suitcase for elite surfers. Gilmore, now 36 with a record eight world titles, has done the dance for 17 years.
Moore, a five-time champion, reigning Olympic gold medallist and a living treasure in Hawaii, has 13 years under her belt.
Neither decision to walk away – Moore planning to start a family after her Olympic title defence at Teahupo’o, Tahiti in July, Gilmore for a 12-month sabbatical – came out of the blue.
Toledo, on the other hand, shocked plenty. The Brazilian, long regarded as one of the best aerial and small wave surfers to grace the tour, announced on Monday that he was withdrawing from his title defence for the benefit of his mental health.
It comes after fierce backlash to his recent efforts at Pipeline, in which he caught just two waves for a combined score of 1.77 in heaving conditions, before withdrawing from the event citing a bout of food poisoning.
Why three champions with 15 world titles have walked out on surfing’s pro tour
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12.02.2024
There’s a well-worn piece of wisdom on the pro-surfing circuit: the year you win a title often ends up the most draining of your life.
In the past 24 days, world champions Filipe Toledo, Stephanie Gilmore and Carissa Moore have walked away, taking no less than 15 world titles with them.
For all the glamour of being paid to travel the world, surfing five-star waves........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
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