San Clemente surfers Marks and Colapinto place second at world championship
TAVARUA, Fiji (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Two San Clemente surfers placed second at the World Surf League Finals Fiji on Sept. 2, where the five top-ranked women and men battled it out for the World Title in the one day, winner-takes-all event.
San Clemente’s Caroline Marks and Griffin Colapinto broke through to the final round of the event but ultimately fell short to No. 1 seeds Molly Picklum from Australia and Yago Dora from Brazil.
On the women's side, Picklum claimed her maiden World Championship, defeating 2023 World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Caroline Marks over three 35-minute matchups.
On her journey to the Title Match, Marks won three heats in a row to overcome Bettylou Sakura Johnson and Gabriela Bryan from Hawaii and Caitlin Simmers from Oceanside. She then beat Picklum in the first match of the final round, sending it to a best-of-three showdown.
After losing the first match, Picklum vengefully responded, posting a 15.83 two-wave total, which brought Marks to a third match. In the third, Picklum posted the highest single-wave score of the entire event, 8.33, which contributed to her final 16.93 score, the highest two-wave total.
“There was so much doubt, but I feel like that’s what raises a champion,” Picklum told WSL. “You have to step up and rise above that. I just kept true to trusting in the unknown, and I’m so, so grateful that it panned out.”
Marks ended the season in second place for the second year in a row, but she is already in next year’s World Title conversation.
Colapinto represented U.S. surfing on the men's side of competition. He posted some of the highest heat totals of the day on his way into the Title Match, eliminating Brazil’s Italo Ferreira and South Africa’s Jordy Smith.
Dora defeated Colapinto in the first match, posting a 15.66 total score. Colapinto was unable to find a wave that offered him the scoring potential he needed to bring it to a best-of-three match.
With just seconds left on the clock, Colapinto wasn’t able to make it through to the end of a barrel, wiping out his chances at the World Title. He had already performed two turns on the wave, so it is possible that coming out of that barrel would have been enough to bring him to another match or two against Dora.
“Griffin was looking so dangerous out there all day, and it was nerve-racking coming up against him, so I’m glad I could get it done in one heat and use the seeding to my advantage,” Dora said. “Griffin was the guy to beat today.”
Although Colapinto fell short of the crown, he ended the season with a career-best result. This was the first Title Match of his career.
This was the last WSL Finals Day format, as there will be a new path to the World Title. Starting in 2026, the CT will return to a year-long cumulative season rankings.
For more information and Fiji highlights visit WorldSurfLeague.com. For information about the U.S. finalists, visit FOX 5/KUSI.
2025 Lexus WSL Finals Fiji Presented by Corona Cero Women's Results:
TITLE MATCH 3: Molly Picklum (AUS) 16.93 DEF. Caroline Marks (USA) 6.24
TITLE MATCH 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 15.83 DEF. Caroline Marks (USA) 8.03
TITLE MATCH 1: Caroline Marks (USA) 12.50 DEF. Molly Picklum (AUS) 10.50
MATCH 3: Caroline Marks (USA) 13.67 DEF. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 9.47
MATCH 2: Caroline Marks (USA) 14.60 DEF. Caitlin Simmers (USA) 11.33
MATCH 1: Caroline Marks (USA) 9.66 DEF. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 5.00
2025 Lexus WSL Finals Fiji Presented by Corona Cero Men's Results:
TITLE MATCH 1: Yago Dora (BRA) 15.66 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 12.33
MATCH 3: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 15.43 DEF. Jordy Smith (RSA) 13.50
MATCH 2: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 16.33 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.67
MATCH 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 14.33 DEF. Jack Robinson (AUS) 5.83
