'Pickles' relishes first win of 2025 in Brazil
June 29 (Reuters) - Australian surfer Molly "Pickles" Picklum won the Vivo Rio Pro in Brazil on Sunday, taking out local star Luana Silva to claim her first win of the year and jump to the top of the world rankings with just two events of the regular season remaining.
Californian powerhouse Cole Houshmand also won his first world championship tour event of 2025, beating Griffin Colapinto in the final.
The biggest surfer on the world tour at 190cm and 90kg, Houshmand, 24, surfed with speed and power throughout the event and laid down the heaviest turns in the overhead but funky waves at Saquarema Beach.
Houshmand picked up a decent left-hander early in the final and belted it three times for a near-perfect 9.40 out of 10 to pile the pressure on Colapinto, his San Clemente neighbour.
Colapinto fought back with an 8.23 to go with an earlier 6.17 but had no answer when Houshmand added a 7.5 for a two-wave total of 16.90.
"The fans all week, whether they love me or hate me, it's the most passionate people in the world," Houshmand said. "And I love it. I feed off it. We're competing in a stadium here. I looked at the beach, and you can't even see open space.
"It's what we dream of and what we live for."
Picklum carried her dominant early form in the competition through to the finals, putting together powerful turns and combinations on both left- and right-handers to finish with a two-wave total of 15, the highest of the women's event.
'Before I was going out, I felt really emotional because I was just like, okay, I get another chance to try and get a victory," the 22-year-old said.
"I've dreamt so much of winning here in Rio, too. I'm a real energetic person, I love the Brazilian energy, and to get a win this year means so much, for sure."
The tour next heads to the right-hand point of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa for the 10th stop on the schedule, before the final regular-season event at the 2024 Paris Olympics venue of Teahupo'o.
The top five men and women will then compete in a one-day, winner-takes-all Finals Day in Fiji in late August or early September.
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