Gabriel Medina is ranked 2nd in the world, and he is about to set off on a world title bid by tearing through Europe and then on to a tear through Hawaii no doubt. Unless he gets seriously injure before the end of the year, he has more than a good chance of winning the 2017 Championship Tour. He has John John Florence just above him and Matt Wilkinson just below, with Jordy and Kelly lurking, but he’s in with more than a shout.
Fellow Brazilian powerhouse Caio Ibelli is ranked 17th on the Championship Tour and has a good chance of requalifying. He just needs to hold steady through Europe. He already has two throwaway 25th places, so he cannot afford to falter at this stage if he wants to be back on the Championship Tour. He doesn't have a backup QS campaign either, so no messing around for the young natural-footer.
What do we know about these two surfers, and what do they have in common besides both being Brazilian?
Well, in 2009 they competed in the final of the Quiksilver King Of The Groms, in France. Medina was 15 years old in 2009, and even then he was absolutely unbelievable and it seemed he was destined for a world title and more.
During this event he literally mowed down the opposition, and the world got to see the future of surfing right then and there. Without wishing to detract from Ibelli too much, he wasn’t even in the game in this event, and bowed out to Medina in a final. It would have been absolutely impossible to have gone north of Medina’s scores, as he was awarded a 10-point ride for his best ride, and a 10-point ride for his second scoring ride. He threw away a 9.7, and banked a cool 20 for the final win. Along the way he did multiple airs and rotations on the two waves, including a Superman air, to get his perfect score, and Ibelli pulled off one very flat and average air for a score in the high six region.
There are a number of takeaways from this video that make it slightly amusing, very cool in a nostalgic way, as well as a grim reminder of a few important facts that we dare not overlook.
Charlie shuffles onto screen near the beginning, holding onto his jersey in a scene that has played out again and again ever since – quietly shuffling onto screen whenever there is a camera around.
Caio Ibelli with all the wonders of youth about him, like a full set of hair long before any threat of male pattern baldness were to set in.
Cool to see Perry Hatchett in there as well, looking jovial and acknowledging that the kid’s surfing was just, well, 10-point performances. He was blissfully unaware at that stage that his contract as ASP head judge would never be renewed again and he was put out to pasture 4 weeks before the 2010 started.
Gabriel’s surfing was absolutely mind blowing, but social media was early days and this footage never really got out there as much as it should have. When looking back it’s clear that Gabby’s surfing hasn't gone much further than where it was in 2009. He has perfected those moves, moved away a little from the Superman’s and concentrated on those big backhand airs that are not evident in this video, but his level of progression has definitely slowed down since when this clip was filmed.
Still, watch the video. It’s pretty mind-blowing to watch Gabriel as a 15-year-old doing turns that would eventually win him a world title 5 years later, and it’s just as cool to watch Caio, and see how far he has come to win the QS rankings in 2015 and gain his spot on the Tour.
