Ethan Ewing. Photo: Cait Miers//World Surf League
If you polled 100 surf fans about which CT athlete they’d most like to surf like — I mean carbon copy their style and skillset — the name Ethan Ewing would likely come up the most. Sure, you may have another favorite surfer. There may be another athlete you’re more inclined to root for. But nobody on tour is talked about the way that fans, other pro surfers, and even the WSL broadcast team talk about EE.
It was late-ish Thursday evening in the States by the time Ewing came out to surf his Round of 16 heat against Connor O’Leary at Bells, so a lot of American surf fans likely missed his performance. It’s worth a quick watch. The 2023 Rip Curl Pro winner put up a monster heat against O’Leary but he did it with unmatched efficiency: three waves surfed, three excellent scores, and of course, only two of them counted. In the end, Ewing could have thrown out either of his two nine-point rides, used his actual throw away score, and he still would have outperformed all but one surfer the entire day (Jake Marshall’s 18.33 in the Round of 32).
For a quick recap, the heat got started with O’Leary and Ewing going back-to-back on the first set. Ewing scored a nine-point ride out of the gate, then added another excellent score to post a 17.83 heat total and combo O’Leary. Connor did eventually answer with a high-eight that put him within reach over the final 10 minutes only to then watch Ethan Ewing unload one of the biggest turns you’ve ever seen a few minutes later and close the heat down.
Watch the recap if only to appreciate some one-of-a-kind surfing. Most of us would sell the farm for the ability to throw just one turn like this guy.
