SURF CITY, El Salvador — John John Florence didn’t have to think too hard about whom to dedicate his first World Surf League Championship Tour win in three years.
The North Shore of Oahu native had finished runner-up three times in six previous CT events this year, but he broke through to defeat Brazil’s Yago Dora, 16.33 to 14.44, in the Surf City El Salvador Pro on Sunday. In doing so, the 31-year-old assured himself a berth in the WSL Finals for the first time.
Florence notched top wave scores of 8.50 and 7.83 in the final in 3-to-4-foot conditions at Punta Roca, while Dora posted a 9.77 on his fifth ride, but otherwise managed only a 4.67.
“That’s for Darwin, oh my god, I’m so stoked,” said Florence, referring to his newborn son, in an interview with the WSL. “I’m just super stoked to win an event. … When (Dora) got that 9, I just thought, 'Oh no, there’s going to be sets,' but then it just went flat. I can’t believe it. I’m just feeling so good with where I’m at right now, my headspace, everything. My wife back home, my wife and my son, my mom and brothers, just everyone. I can’t believe it.”
It was Florence’s ninth all-time win on the Championship Tour, and first since leading off the 2021 season with success in his backyard at the Billabong Pipe Masters.
On his way to the final, he accomplished his 18th career perfect 10 ride in the semis in a 17.50-14.43 victory over South Africa’s Matthew McGillivray.
Florence, a two-time WSL champion, clinched his place in the WSL Finals for the first time since the organization revamped its system two years ago with a staggered, single-day bracket at Lower Trestles, Calif., to determine its champ.
Florence has 41,465 points on the 2024 CT and is positioned for the No. 1 seed if he can hold off Australia’s Jack Robinson, who is in second at 30,725, with three regular-season events remaining. The top five surfers qualify for the WSL Finals.
He has already qualified for a Team USA berth for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics; the surfing event will be held in Tahiti.
“I think I just feel light, and I feel good. My wife and I have our son, and it’s just been such a good year,” Florence told the WSL. “Coming into the year, there’s so much going on — having a baby, the Olympics, the Tour and everything. It was a lot, but it’s just been so much fun and better than I could’ve imagined. This will be my first time making it to the WSL Finals, but there’s still work to be done, and I want to be leading going into it and have the best chance possible.”
On the El Salvador Pro women’s final, Caroline Marks out-dueled Kauai’s Gabriela Bryan, 14.80 to 14.66, denying Bryan her second CT win of the season.
Bryan posted waves of 6.93 and 7.53 in the final. She ranks No. 6 in the CT rankings, just outside the WSL Finals if the season ended today.
Marks came from behind to post twin 7.40 scores on her last two rides of the final, her fifth and sixth.
“It feels super good, especially to back it up after (winning) Margaret River (two events prior),” Bryan told the WSL. “I had a great week surfing insane waves with the girls and thank you to everyone for welcoming us. Congratulations to Caroline on an awesome final. She’s been ripping, and it was super special to share that with her.”
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.