Toledo showed moments of brilliance in heavy surf at the 2024 Olympics. Photo: Pablo Franco//ISA
Over the course of his illustrious career on the WSL Championship Tour, Filipe Toledo has made a name for himself in smaller, performance waves. Now, he says, he wants to ride bigger surf when he enters the next stage of his career.
In an interview with the Brazilian surf media outlet Waves, Toledo said he’s been discussing missions to surf some of the world’s biggest waves with Brazilian big wave rider Lucas Chumbo.
“We’ve already agreed that it’s going to happen someday,” Toledo said. “I really want to ride a wave at Nazaré, or maybe Jaws, at least once in my life, just to feel that rush and see what it’s like.”
He also noted that his current training regimen for the CT isn’t sufficient to surf waves like that. He’d have to focus on preparing, and pick his spots wisely given his role as a father.
“But I think it requires specific preparation,” he said. “I can’t just head out there and decide to catch a wave on a whim. I’m a father of three, so I have to be a bit more cautious — I can’t just act without thinking.”
While Toledo has won CT events at venues like Trestles, Punta Roca, Bells Beach, Supertubos, and Sunset Beach, he has never been able to tame the notorious reefs on tour: Pipeline, Fiji, or Tahiti. He did make the semifinals in Tahiti — the next CT stop — once during a smaller swell, falling to Owen Wright in a heat that included as many turns as tubes.
At the 2024 Olympics, he earned the highest round two score with 17 points at Teahupo’o, but when the swell picked up in round three, he lost with a heat total of only 2.46, the lowest of the round.
Whether Toledo ever adds Nazaré or Jaws to his resume remains to be seen, but now it’s public that they are waves he wants to ride, not spots he wants to avoid.
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