World Surfing Tour arrives in Rio de Janeiro

Two days before the start of the competition window for the Rio de Janeiro stage of the World Surfing Circuit, three of the Brazilian stars who will participate in the event held a press conference this Wednesday (21st), in which they spoke of the expectation of acting in front of of the Brazilian public. Among men, title expectations are on current world champion Filipe Toledo. Currently occupying the second position in the world ranking, behind only the North American Griffin Colapinto, the Brazilian comes to the dispute with a lot of morale, after winning the last three editions of the Saquarema stage: 2022, 2018, 2019 (because in 2020 and 2021 the competition was not held because of the covid-19 pandemic). “It’s great to return to Brazil, to compete in a stage that brings back many good memories. I had great times here. Saquarema brings me confidence, but I have a lot of respect for all surfers and I know it will be a magical event for everyone. I’ve been going to Saquarema since I was a child. I accompanied my father competing there. I saw my idols compete and I have a special affection for the locals”, declared an excited Filipinho. Another Brazilian who has his eyes on the title of the eighth stage of the World Surfing Tour is Italo Ferreira from Rio Grande do Norte. “Winning in the Rio stage would be very important in my career. Things are always difficult for me, but I always look for [a vitória] rocked by my faith, like in 2019. I have three events to achieve good results and enter the top-5 of the world ranking. This is the time to win”, declared the Olympic champion. Among the women, Tatiana Weston-Webb will have a special companion in the Brazilian stage, the two-time world runner-up Silvana Lima, who was invited by the organization of the event. And the gaucho, who occupies the fifth position in the women’s world ranking, also highlights the importance of support from the fans: “I feel a little more pressure to compete in front of our public. But that is a privilege, and of course I would like to win like Filipe”. “Every time you do half a trick, the crowd will already scream, which is really cool, because your opponents will always be thinking that you did something too much, which enters their minds”, declared Tatiana Weston-Webb. The competition window for the eighth stage of the World Surfing Tour begins next Friday (23rd) and will run until July 1st.

Agência Brasil