Photo: Cait Miers//World Surf League
Kanoa Igarashi had a good run at Bells last week. Considering he’d never made it past the third round there and only made two finals on tour since winning silver at the 2021 Tokyo Games, it’s felt like he’s been looking to recapture some mojo for a while now.
“I had a dream last night. I actually got woken up by my dream. I was ringing the bell. But it was actually a bit smaller,” he joked from the podium while holding the second place trophy (a smaller version of the winner’s trophy). “I guess it kinda came to fruition.”
Is Kanoa back? Nobody’s going to make that claim without more strong results. In 2024, Igarashi only made it past the Round of 16 once, going into the final at Sunset and losing to, you guessed it, Jack Robinson. It was another down year in 2024 unquestionably, but his results so far in 2025 have been stronger. Notably, he fought off Ethan Ewing at Bells on his run to the final against Robo this year. That’s gotta count for something.
