Consistent Molly Picklum leads the way after first win of WSL season in Brazil
Australian surfer Molly Picklum has shown why she is top of the women's World Surfing League standings, claiming her first win on tour this season in Saquarema, Brazil.
After beating Canadian Erin Brooks 13.06 to 7.60 earlier on Sunday (Monday AEST) in the second semi-final, Picklum took on local Luana Silva in the final of the Vivo Rio Pro, stop nine of the competition.
Picklum opened with a 6.83 and followed it up with the highest single wave score of the event for the women, an 8.17. Her final total of 15.00 was also the highest of the event for the women at Praia de Itauna.
Silva's best two-wave score totalled 9.23, well short of being able to stop Picklum winning for the third time.
'She [Silva] has been surfing so well. I knew she's such a competitor and she's such a fighter,' said the 22-year-old from Gosford. 'I was pretty scared all the way until the end even though I had a couple of good scores. But yeah, she's capable of great things and I'm so happy to get that one over her.'
The WSL Tour's most consistent women's surfer in 2025 – reaching the quarter-finals in eight out of nine events, including three finals – Picklum enjoys top spot with just two regular-season events remaining on the calendar.
'I've worked so hard this year to really put my best foot forward,' she added. '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.
'Thank you so much and shout out to everyone back at home. I know you're all probably up watching and I felt all the love.'
Sign up to Australia Sport
Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk
after newsletter promotion
In the men's draw, Australia's Ethan Ewing was beaten in the semis by American Griffin Colapinto, 14.84 to 14.20, after earlier downing defending champion and home hope Italo Ferreira (14.43-13.30) in the quarters.
Colapinto was then out-gunned 16.90 to 14.40 by compatriot Cole Houshmand in the decider, who went two-for-two in CT Finals, backing up his 2024 breakthrough win at Bells Beach with another victory.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Club World Cup team SACKS manager despite historic win as former Prem co-owner looks for new boss
BOTAFOGO have sacked manager Renato Paiva just 48 hours after being eliminated from the Club World Cup. The Brazilian side were knocked out of the tournament in the last 16 by Palmeiras. 3 3 3 Paulinho scored the decisive goal in the 100th minute as the match finished 0-0 after 90 minutes. As a result, Botagofo have called time on Paiva's time in charge of the club. The decision by owner and former Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor was confirmed with a statement on social media on Sunday night. It read: "Botafogo announces that Renato Paiva is no longer the head coach of the first team. "The decision was communicated to the professional on Sunday night (29). "The club thanks Paiva and his assistants for their services rendered to the Glorioso in recent months - with special mention to the historic victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup, and the qualification for the round of 16 in the Libertadores and Copa do Brasil. "John Textor and the Football Department board are in the market searching for a new coach for the challenge of continuing on the path to titles, aiming for the bicampeonatos of the Libertadores and the Brasileiro, and the unprecedented Copa do Brasil title." Botafogo had qualified for the knockout rounds of the tournament after finishing second in Group B. The club famously beat Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain as well as the Seattle Sounders. This meant that the finished above LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid to make it through. More to follow... THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Harry Kane sinks Flamengo to set up Bayern Munich's Club World Cup tie with PSG
A World Cup is a better place for the Brazilians, but this one has lost two in 24 hours. The day after Botafogo fell to Palmerias, Flamengo departed too, cut down by Harry Kane. That sea of red and black will be missed and their team will too: the side who beat Chelsea showed that was not by chance, as they made a game of this one, scoring twice at the Hard Rock Stadium, their fans banging drums and their coach declaring his pride at how they had played. But it was Bayern Munich who progressed. 'It is about moments and we took our moments very well,' the England captain said. 'We stayed calm, and scored our goals at the right time.' He scored two of them, finally securing a victory when he scored his second with quarter of an hour left, a goal which, in his own words, 'eased the last 10 minutes' of an afternoon that had been far from easy. His brace, a Leon Goretzka strike and an Erick Pulgar own goal saw it finish 4-2, setting up a meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight. For Flamengo there was a noisy farewell and as they wound their way down the ramps at the end, songs echoed off the stands. Filipe Luís, the coach, said that they they had in the end been beaten by a 'superior team', a 'real colossus' but that they had played their way. Their way was good too, good enough that they may feel that justice was not entirely done and reflect on the part they played in their own downfall, even if Luís insisted that the errors that proved decisive in the end were forced by an opponent that is 'absolutely elite'. They racked up more shots than Bayern, yet also slipped 2-0 and 3-1 down in the first half and, ultimately left too much to do. When Kane added the fourth, it was done. The first of Bayern's four came after just six minutes and two more followed before the break, aided by an apparent nervousness about their opponents when pressure was applied and a willingness to take risks playing out. Agustín Rossi had already been forced to backpedal to reach an inswinging corner, seen a clearance hit Pulgar to set up a Joshua Kimmich shot, and gratefully watched a punch away hit a black balloon rather than setting up another dangerous delivery when they conceded an own goal opener. Jumping by Goretzka, the hint of a hand in his back, Gonzalo Plata succeeded only in deflecting the ball off the top of his head and into the net. Flamengo responded fast, Plata escaping up the right where they advanced often and delivering a cross from which Giorgian de Arrascaeta's header flew just past the post. There was an aggressiveness and determination to Flamengo that went with the noise their supporters brought and underlined that this would be a proper game. It was, too, even if Bayern were soon two up when Kane took advantage of Dayot Upamecano's steal, turned and hit a 25-yard shot that flew in off the post, a deflection taking it away from Rossi. There had been fortune in that and Flamengo certainly would have been entitled to feel unlucky to trail by two then and even more so a moment later when Manuel Neuer made an extraordinary save from Luiz Araújo, flashing out a strong right hand that had he and Kimmich celebrating. Next Leo Pereira struck wide. And not long after that, Araújo superbly controlled somewhere up near his neck, spun and volleyed wide. When Gerson belted a shot first time screeching right through Neuer's hands to make it 2-1 on half an hour, Flamengo had deserved it. The problem for Luis's side were those moments Kane mentioned. Within five minutes, Bayern had scored again, although another poor clearance set it up. It came to Goretzka, lurking outside the area. He controlled on his chest, took one touch and then, despite the distance, opened up his body to disguise the direction of the shot and calmly yet firmly side-footed into the corner. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Flamengo kept coming, and got back in it early in the second half when Michael Olise blocked a cross with his arm to concede. A hop, a pause, and without a look Jorginho sent Neuer the wrong way, side-footing his penalty into the corner. Soon Bruno Henrique escaped behind the Bayern defence, but couldn't guide his shot on target. The Brazilians behind the goal sensed an opportunity – 'the fans are a big part of it,' Kane said after – and roared their team on but then came another of those moments, another error ruthlessly exposed. Dribbling out from deep, Araújo just about escaped the first challenge but couldn't escape the second. Konrad Laimer won the ball, Kimmich gave it to Kane and that was only going to end one way, the finish so clean, the job done his way.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
'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.
