Photo: Surfing Champions Trophy
Caio Ibelli has been added to the list of competitors in the Four Seasons Maldives 2026 Surfing Champions Trophy. Contest organizers announced the former Championship Tour vet will take the place of fellow Brazilian Victor Bernardo, who was involved in a serious car crash alongside his wife, Johnni Bufkin Bernardo, in California on August 17.
“The entire Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy team sends its love and best wishes to Victor and Johnni, joining the wider surfing community in wishing them strength and a full recovery,” they said. Bernardo had been announced to compete in the event back in July, saying he was most excited about bringing his “mum on her first international trip, enjoying our time together and having fun.”
Ibelli has a laundry list of accomplishments throughout his competitive career, which included a World Junior Championship, the 2015 Qualifying Series World Championship (2011) and Championship Tour Rookie of the Year honors (2016) that launched an eight-year run on the CT. He hung up the jersey after the 2024 season.
“It gives competing a completely new meaning for me,” he says. “When I was on tour, my son wasn’t even born yet, so being able to create these memories with them in a place like the Maldives will be one of the most incredible experiences of my life.”
Interestingly, Ibelli lives nowhere near the ocean now, about 2,000 kilometers from it, deep in the Australian Outback. There’s another twist of even deeper irony too. Caio hasn’t touched a thruster since his last heat on tour. That should make things interesting as he competes in the event’s three divisions: single fin, twin fin, and thruster.
“It’s funny to say, because it’s supposed to be the opposite. I’m meant to be comfortable on a thruster and maybe less comfortable on twins and single fins. But I’ll actually have to put a little work into getting a thruster back under my feet,” adding that, “Maybe the best part will be showing my son that dad can still surf.”
