Simmers and Florence crowned 2024 World Surf League champions

Caity Simmers from the United States and John John Florence from Hawaii claimed historic wins at Lowers Trestles to become the champions of the 2024 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT).

Both Simmer and Florence entered the WSL Finals Day in first seed and became the first surfers since 2021 (Carissa Moore (HAW), Gabriel Medina (BRA)) to hold their top seed positions.

Caity Simmers: Youngest Champion in WSL History

At 18 years old, Simmers achieved a historic milestone by becoming the youngest female World Champion on the CT.

Hailing from Oceanside in California, she wrapped up a season by clinching her first World Title through her impressive surfing skills and strong manoeuvres.

“It means so much,” Simmers said.

“I literally was going through every single emotion today, and it just feels crazy. I can’t believe it. I was feeling so much love today from everyone. You can look at it that it’s all for yourself, or you can look at it like it’s for those people who support me.”

In the battle for the Women’s Title Match title, Simmers went head-to-head with the former champion Caroline Marks from the USA.

Even though Marks had a stellar beginning, claiming heat 1, Simmers came back strong to claim back-to-back heats to claim the WSL Finals.

“I wanted to go out there and just dance and surf how I wanted to surf and not surf like there was so much weight on it,” Simmers said. “Everyone’s here because surfing is so great. We’re just out there riding waves.”

John John Florence: A Third World Title After a Long Road Back

At 31 years old and after a break of seven years due to injuries, Florence made his comeback to claim his World Title in surfing.

Known for his style and continuous improvement, he put an end to Brazils six-year reign at the top of the sport.

“I’m tearing up,” Florence said.

“I can’t believe it. The last seven years have been so tough. There were so many injuries, and just fighting back to being in this position. My family, my wife, my son, my team, everyone. I couldn’t have done it without them because of the injuries and the down days and just so much going into these last few years to get to this point.”

In the men’s title match, bookmaker favourite Florence competed against 2019 World Champion Italo Ferreira, from Brazil.

Florence managed to secure the clean sweep and claim the title in two heats to a tired Ferreira, who had impressively worked his way up from fifth seed, taking out the likes of Ethan Ewing (AUS), Jack Robinson (AUS) and Griffin Colapinto (USA).

“What a day,” Florence said.

“It’s been a really hard road getting here. It feels really good to be done and to win again. The list of names that have three World Titles is pretty incredible, and to be part of that now is really fun. I’m stoked to tie it with Gabe [Medina], because he’s such a fierce competitor, and we qualified at the same time.”

WSL Finals Results and Recap

2024 Lexus WSL Finals Women’s Results

2024 Lexus WSL Finals Men’s Results

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