Gabriel Medina will take on Griffin Colapinto when competition resumes at Margaret River. Photo: WSL//Beatriz Ryder
After nearly a week of downtime at the Margaret River Pro, the forecast is calling for conditions to improve in the nick of time before the competition window closes. Sunday, April 26, the final day of the window, will see offshore winds return for the first half of the day with six-to-eight-foot waves pulsing from the southwest.
However, Sunday afternoon is calling for blustery, south to southwest winds, so contest organizers will have to hurry to finish the finals before conditions deteriorate. Seven heats remain for both the men and women — 14 total between the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals — which will take around seven hours to complete.
The next call will be made today, Saturday morning in Western Australia; however, conditions look dicey with onshore winds forecast all day. If the WSL opts to save all the competition for Sunday, they’ll have to start early, or utilize overlapping heats to save time, while the surf is clean.
The event kicked off on the first day of the window, April 16, in what the WSL called “pumping surf.” They completed 28 heats in one day — a CT record. More heats ran on the 19th, and the remaining 16 surfers have been sitting tight as poor conditions have prevailed since.
A few must-watch heats are lined up on the docket: In the men’s quarterfinals, Gabriel Medina will face Griffin Colapinto, and Italo Ferreira will face Ethan Ewing. On the women’s side, Carissa Moore and Caity Simmers will vie for a semifinal berth.
The current men’s leader, Miguel Pupo, was taken out by Ethan Ewing in round 3, so it’s likely we’ll see a new name atop the leaderboard after finals day. The women’s leader, Gabriela Bryan, is still alive in the event, taking on Sawyer Lindblad in the quarterfinals.
Stay tuned for the next call today at 7:15 a.m. local time.
