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Filipe & Sally Win In Brazil
Filipe & Sally Win In Brazil
Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, where Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) won the Oi Rio Pro, Stop No. 5 on the 2019 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). The beach came alive throughout the Oi Rio Pro with thousands of fans each day, including the Final at Barrinha in four-to-six foot waves. Fitzgibbons and Toledo surfed a full day from the Quarterfinals to the Final, resulting in their third CT victories in Brasil.
Toledo successfully repeated last year's victory at Barrinha with dominant performances against Jordy Smith of South Africa in the Final, Frederico Morais (PRT) in the Semifinals, and Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) in the Quarterfinals. This is Toledo's third win in Brasil and the eighth of his career.
"Once I get into the Quarters and Semis, it's like something clicks in my head, especially here in Brasil," said Toledo. "The crowd just gets me pumped and I just want to do my best."
Later on, at the awards podium, Toledo opened up and revealed that he was going through some personal issues throughout the year, but that the energetic Brasilian crowd provided the extra fuel he needed to push through.
Sally Fitzgibbons Captured the Jeep Leader Jersey and a third CT Win in Brasil. This season the Australian superstar has secured consistent results with four Final Series appearances, including two Finals. Fitzgibbon's win vaults her to No. 1 in the world, surpassing Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Carissa Moore (HAW) on the Jeep Leaderboard.