Words & photos by Peter ‘Joli’ Wilson
NADI * Aug 25th, 2024
The 2024 Corona Fiji Pro presented by Bonsoy wrapped up yesterday at Cloudbreak with American Griffin Colapinto and Canadian Erin Brooks victorious.
It was the first time since 2017 a World Championship Tour event had been held in Fiji, exciting competitors and fans globally who welcomed its return to the iconic location, considered one of the best left-hand point breaks in the world.
With a 12-day waiting period contest organisers were able to pick the perfect days to run the event with waves ranging from 2 meters plus on Thursday (Aug. 22nd) through to 1.5 meters for Saturday’s final day.
There were 24 elite surfers in the men’s draw including 11-time World Champion, the GOAT Kelly Slater (USA), John John Florence (Hawaii), and two 2024 Olympic medalists Jack Robinson (Australia) who won Silver and Gabriel Medina (Brazil) who won Bronze.
On the women’s side of 12 surfers, they included Olympic Silver Medalist Tatiana Weston-Webb (Brazil) and Olympians Molly Picklum (Australia) and Johanne Defay (France).
The contest provided the stage for an incredible display of high-action surfing each day and delivered a number of firsts at this top level.
17-year-old Erin Brooks’ win was the first World Championship event victory for a Canadian surfer while a standout all-event, Rio Waida, made history, becoming the first Indonesian surfer to compete in a World Championship final. It was definitely an international finals with Colapinto from mainland USA and Weston-Webb from Brazil.
The success of the event and the international recognition received for Fiji has been backed up by an announcement confirming the World Tour Surfing Finals will be held at Cloudbreak each year till at least 2026.
