San Clemente surfers Griffin Colapinto and Caroline Marks are officially once again in the running for a world championship title when the showdown comes to Lower Trestles in September.
The Lexus WSL Finals will bring the top-five ranked male and female surfers to battle it out at the surf break just south of San Clemente for a one-day contest that crowns the World Surf League’s champion.
Colapinto and Marks both made the cut during Wednesday’s competition at the Fiji Pro, where they made it past the opening rounds, tallying enough points this season to secure their spots.
Marks, who last year won the finals for her first world championship along with Brazilian surfer Filipe Toledo, said in an interview with WSL that it had been a goal this season to get to defend her title.
“I feel like I’m coming off a really big high after winning the gold at the Olympics, but I still feel like there’s work to be done this year,” said the Florida surfer, who has lived in San Clemente for about a decade. “So two really massive goals this year – I got one done and one more to go.”
She’s “really honored” to have the chance to win another title in front of her hometown, she said.
It will also be a second appearance in the finals for Colapinto, who was raised in the small beach town at the southernmost end of the county. Last year, he came up just short of the title, but this year will give the local surfer another shot at the break where he grew up riding waves.
San Clemente’s Griffin Colapinto kicks up spray during the Rip Curl WSL finals in San Clemente on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. He was knocked out shy of the world title, but will get another shot this Sept.. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“I’ve put so much into this sport and my whole life has been going toward what I’m doing now,” he said in an interview with WSL. “I’m just soaking it in.”
The two local surfers will join Caitlin Simmers, of Oceanside, who had already secured her spot in the Lexus WSL Finals at the last event. It will also be Simmers’ second appearance at the WSL Finals.
Hawaii’s John John Florence, who was on Team USA during the Olympics with Colapinto, Marks and Simmers, has also already made the cut.
It is the last year the WSL Finals will be held at Lower Trestles, after a four-year run, with the venue moving to Fiji next year.
The WSL Finals will happen on one day between Sept. 6 and 14, when forecasters and event organizers determine is the best day for waves.
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