Where's Filipe?
Modern professional surfing is currently in what experts are calling its “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” phase. We have Kelly Slater, who has hung on way too long. We have John John Florence, who hung it up way too early. And we have Carissa Moore who has done it just right. You, of course, recall when the ever classy Hawaiian declared that she would be stepping away from the tour at the beginning of the year. That she would also be representing the United States, again, in the Olympics hoping for back to back gold.
“My favorite rides, the greatest thrills have come when I’ve paddled over the ledge even though my heart or my head is telling me not to, you know?” she gamely declared at the time. “The anxiety comes from ‘am I going to show up?’ I just want to be proud of myself. I want, at the end of the day, to be like, ‘Ok, I did my best. And I rose to the occasion,’ you know?”
Well, in a perfect turn, Moore has accepted a wildcard into the hours away Tahiti Pro. The 2024 Games will, maybe not coincidentally, be held at the exact same reef shelf in two-ish month’s time. A who’s who of surf celebrities celebrated the news via Instagram.
Shaper to the stars Matt Biolos offered, “Pedal to the metal.
Post surf interview maestra AJ McCord added, “We love to see it!!! Have so much fun Riss.”
Big wave stud Shane Dorian penned, “It’s time” while adding a robust flexed arm likely juiced with the very latest in recovery aids.
While Moore’s decision is perfect, like each previous, there is still silence in Filipe Toledo’s camp. The timid small wave surfer will also be Olympic surfing and has already made a name for himself at the Cave of Skulls by refusing to paddle when it gets scary.
Should he have screwed up enough courage to wildcard himself?
Obviously.
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Agreed. The nastyness of this place already taking pieces of prime beef off the competitiors bodies with Brissa first up with some sore looking slices on her leg.
They didn’t understand the culture for 2020 when they were insisting the CT surfers come to Colorado Springs for evaluation and training. Of course none of them were interested and it was blamed on USA Surfing not having control of their athletes. By the end of the Olympics they finally understood that these were professional athletes with their own teams of coaches etc and they had agreed to support their individual training financially. When the athletes asked for “help” to train in Tahiti they declined. WSL’s involvement in qualifying athletes for 2028 will be greatly minimized if not eliminated.
Oh, I know the difference.
But I didn’t hear the USOC object when the IOC wanted Summer board sports. Maybe I missed it, but I thought the USOC was in support, with these even being sports that originated in the US.
Am I wrong? Or did they just decide that surfing doesn’t need the USOC?
Maybe the WSL shouldn’t have been allowed to play the role it does.
Much like the surf industry if the USOPC doesn’t have their people in charge of the sports National Governing Body, they won’t support it. Same thing happened to skateboarding. Both wouldn’t capitulate and bailed on USOPC. Watch them give skateboarding and surfing to US Ski and Snowboard to manage with CEO . . . . Sophie Goldschmidt!
Ah.
That makes sense.
JOB and Nate, superwild cards
Reckon we could make him cry?
like sooky little bitch Pupo cry
I will laminate and pin to my never forget wall next to this:
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
What about just a Wildcard world tour – obviously the WWT!!
Pick a location – dream tour one – search style, maps to nowhere stuff – 32 men 16 women
We all pick surfers at each venue bar a couple selected by event sponsor
16 men, 16 women
The US Olympic Paralympic Committee are not contributing a dime towards USA athletes training at Teahupoo. Even with a stacked team of likely medalists. All the other nation’s surfing National Governing Bodies are running training camps. The USOPC pulled their support of USA Surfing because they didn’t want to contribute towards the development of the surfing talent. They just wanted the glory of sending 4 CT surfers every four years to the Olympics. They can’t even do that. But they throw a bunch of money ($750,000 in 2022) at Artistic Swimming that hasn’t even qualified for the Olympics since 2008 and let a sadistic coach torture little girls! https://www.ocregister.com/…
I don’t get it. The IOC added board sports to the Summer because they get a lot of viewers watching slopestyle and boardercross in Winter, and the viewership in the Summer wasn’t as good as the Winter.
They flat out dumped weightlifting, a sport with a very rich Olympic tradition, to chase viewers.
Why not support surfing, if that’s what the Olympics are becoming?
It still seems weird to me, to see surfing and skateboarding there, but that’s what they wanted.
Such a great man on man heat.
At least Kelly has given himself a wildcard, and presumably will continue to do so for as long as OK is the sponsor.
He could probably sponsor some of the other comps he likes as well, and have a full dance card for years to come…
And it’s one of the reason she has left tour so she can focus on teahupoo thisnyear.
Pip just posted this about a half hour ago. Coincidence?
https://www.instagram.com/r…
He has been in Tahiti the last week on the Brazilian team training camp.
biolis blew it
pedal to the medal!
Petal to the medal?
Xox
“Petal to the Metal” would be a good name for an all girl Metallica tribute band.
Or “Fecal to the Fetal” for Pip’s Chopes campaign.
Xox
Back for Moore…
Filipe Toledo has accepted his wild card bid for the upcomming Pussy Pro in Malibu
Malibu terrifies me.
Prize sounds ok
We need to give him a wild card for the BG comments section for the comp
He’ll be one of those “person commenting” ghost notifications where the comment never actually posts. Peer over the ledge and pull back …