CLOUDBREAK, Fiji (Friday, August 16, 2024) - In less than one week, the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) will return to the pristine waves of Cloudbreak for the Corona Fiji Pro Presented by Bonsoy, Stop No. 9 on the 2024 CT. For the first time in over six years, the world's elite will compete in Fiji at one of the premier left-hand reef breaks. The race to the WSL Final 5 is heating up, and the opportunity to clinch a spot in the 2024 Lexus WSL Finals to compete for the World Title will be on the line at this event.
As the last regular-season event of the 2024 CT, the Corona Fiji Pro will be the final opportunity for athletes to bank a big result and clinch their spot at the Lexus WSL Finals. John John Florence (HAW) and Caitlin Simmers (USA) are the only two surfers who have already secured their entry to the Final 5, which means the door is open for thirteen surfers on the men's side and eight on the women's.
Next Up: Cloudbreak Is Back!
Cloudbreak, located off the island of Tavarua in Fiji, is one of the original linchpins of the ‘Dream Tour' in the 2000s. Cloudbreak has played host to some of the most memorable moments in CT history. It is a long, fast, hollow left-hander that breaks over shallow reef and tests all aspects of a surfer's repertoire. From snaps, carves, and airs at four feet to mesmerizing barrels at 10 feet, this location has it all. The WSL's return to the iconic location has been welcomed by competitors and fans alike.
Cloudbreak is a wave that can offer competitors their best ride or the most terrifying situation of their lives, sometimes all in the same moment. Set against the beautiful tropical paradise of Fiji, it is truly a wonder of the surfing world.
Cloudbreak Offers Olympic Medalists More Heavy Lefts
The Corona Fiji Pro will be the first WSL CT event following the Olympic Games Paris 2024 that took place in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. Teahupo'o shares many similarities with the waves of Cloudbreak, with both left-handers breaking over shallow coral reefs and offering some of the planet's biggest and most critical barrels.
Olympic Gold Medalist Caroline Marks (USA) will be looking to carry the high from the closing ceremony in Paris all the way to Fiji as she now shifts her focus to claiming back-to-back World Titles. First, she must book her spot at the Lexus WSL Finals with a big finish in Fiji. She will be up against fellow goofy-footers Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) and Erin Brooks (CAN) in Heat 3 of the Opening Round.
Brazilians Tatiana Weston-Webb and Gabriel Medina took home Silver and Bronze, respectively, for their country and will both be ones to watch in the long, grinding tubes of Cloudbreak. Medina hopes to add his name to the Fiji winner's list for a third time, while Weston-Webb will aim for her first Finals berth of the 2024 CT season.
France's Johanne Defay is the reigning event winner in Fiji and is one of the CT standouts in hollow lefthand reef breaks, something she reminded the world of with a Bronze Medal finish in Tahiti for Paris 2024. After an impressive start to the season, Defay's results have dropped off in the last few CT events, and she'll look to carry confidence from the Olympics into Stop 9 of the CT.
Australian Silver Medalist Jack Robinson has only surfed in Fiji once before but will be a favorite to go deep in the event, given his technical ability riding backside barrels. Having nearly clinched his Final 5 spot and his second-place result at the Olympic Games, Robinson will now have his sights firmly focused on the 2024 World Title.
Having called the island of Namotu home over the last several years, Brisa Hennessy (CRC) is the surfer on Tour with perhaps the most experience at Cloudbreak. The Costa Rican Olympian will be looking to put this experience into practice as she hopes to find some of the form that saw her leading the rankings earlier this year and hang onto her spot inside the Final 5.
The 2024 Corona Fiji Pro Presented by Bonsoy holds an event window from August 20 - 29, 2024.
Corona Fiji Pro Presented by Bonsoy Men's Opening Round Matchups: HEAT 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) HEAT 2: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Imaikalani de Vault (HAW) HEAT 3: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Kelly Slater (USA) HEAT 4: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Tevita Gukilau (FIJ) HEAT 5: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Cole Houshmand (USA) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW) HEAT 6: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Jake Marshall (USA) vs. Liam O'Brien (AUS) HEAT 7: Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Rio Waida (INA) vs. Mathew McGillivray (RSA) HEAT 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Crosby Colapinto (USA) vs. Connor O'Leary (JPN)
Corona Fiji Pro Presented by Bonsoy Women's Opening Round Matchups: HEAT 1: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Bettylou Sakura Johnson HEAT 2 Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) vs. Sierra Kerr (AUS) HEAT 3: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) vs. Erin Brooks (CAN) HEAT 4: Brisa Hennessy (CRC) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)