On July 19, Lakey Peterson from the United States of America and Filipe Toledo from Brazil won the Corona Ooen J-Bay Stop No. 9 on the World Surf League (WSL) 2023 Championship Tour (CT), in perfectly groomed, three-to-five foot surf at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay.
Slightly slower conditions proved challenging for some of the surfers on finals day, but the cream rose to the top as the world’s best picked apart the long rights of J-Bay in exciting matchups all day.
Peterson (USA) is officially back to winning form as she claimed a career-fifth event title on the Championship Tour, her first win since 2019.
A legitimate world title threat in 2018 and 2019, the powerful surfer suffered a lower-back injury early in 2021 and has since been fighting to find her winning formula again.
“This is my favourite event on the calendar, it’s just special,” Peterson said.
“I’m dedicating this to my sister-in-law who we lost this time of year last year so there’s a lot of emotions, it’s really cool. We all work so hard and we’re so competitive but it’s really special when your peers want to celebrate you and they show up for you, it’s a pretty cool community and I don’t know many other sports like that.”
Peterson’s road to the final in Jeffreys Bay was anything but a walk in the park as she faced some of the toughest draws this week.
She successfully dispatched up-and-coming rookie Caitlin Simmers (USA), former runner-up in the world Caroline Marks (USA), and two-time World Champion Tyler Wright (AUS) before besting Molly Picklum (AUS) in the last heat.
In the final, a tough start with multiple falls and minor scores did not stop Peterson from believing and the powerful regular foot came back in the fight midway through with a 6.27 (out of a possible 10) before catching the best wave of the heat with an excellent 8.50 that secured her victory.
“I just kept working and just kept knocking on the door and trusting the process. It’s hard sometimes,” Peterson explained.
“I love J-Bay and it just loved me right back today to be honest. It was a tricky day, and it was easy to be on the wrong side of priority when the good waves came, so a bit of luck in there but I’m proud of myself. This was my third final out here so third time’s a charm.”
The reigning World Champion and current rankings leader, Toledo (BRA), continued to demonstrate his superiority with a near-perfect display of progressive, technical surfing in the final against defending event winner Ethan Ewing (AUS).
The result marks his 15th CT win and the third at the famed South African point break after back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018.
“J-Bay sure has a big place in my heart. I love the vibes here and love the people,” Toledo said.
“I couldn’t have done it without the help from my team, those in my corner so thanks to all of them. This is a big confidence boost, knowing I clinched the Final 5, now going to Tahiti with the Yellow jersey is extra special.”
His third win in 2023 further cemented Toledo’s spot atop the rankings as the tour heads to the last event of the season before the Rip Curl WSL Finals.
Impeccable on the long rights of J-Bay where he surfed to an incredible 18.76 heat total (out of a possible 20) in the final, nothing could stop him as he peaked right at the perfect time when it mattered most.
The runners up were Picklum (AUS) in the women’s finals and Ewing (AUS) in the men’s finals.
For more information visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
