Brazil Is Still The World’s Best Surfing Nation

Gabriel Medina has won the World Title and there’s nothing you can do about it.

It’s true today and it will be true tomorrow and it will be true when pro surfing dies in 5-10 years. Medina was the best surfer in 2018 by a small margin and the best surfer at Pipe by several fucking hectares. He deserves every bit of what he’s earned.

But his success has not come in isolation.

Since Medina’s first World Title in 2014, Brazil’s surfing contingent has strangled the international field with its jiu jitsu grip then proceeded to slap the Australian, American, and other worldly surfers around with their acai punch.

No, wait, that might have been the other way around... but you get the idea.

This is what world domination looks like. Photo: WSL

Last year we claimed that Brazil had officially become the world’s best surfing nation, on the basis that they’d placed the most men on the Championship Tour of any country for the first time in their history.

Commenters were quick to scrutinize that sole criterion, which was justified due to the narrowness of its scope. But come the end of 2018, these folks have absolutely no ground to stand on.

Brazil is currently the world’s best surfing nation, and it’s not even fucking close.

Stormin’. Photo: WSL

Don’t want to believe? Let’s look at the numbers:

• Brazil has won: 3 of the last 5 World Titles (Medina 2014; De Souza 2015; Medina 2018)
• Brazil had: 3 of the top 4 guys on the CT this year (Medina 1; Toledo 3; Ferreira 4)
• Brazil won: 9 of 11 events on the 2018 Championship Tour (Bells: Ferreira; Brazil: Toledo; Keramas: Ferreira; Uluwatu: Cardoso; J-Bay: Toledo; Teahupo’o: Medina; Surf Ranch: Medina; Portugal: Ferreira; Pipe: Medina)
• Brazil left Hawaii with: A Pipe Masters and Triple Crown title (Medina; Mendes)
• CT requalifiers from Brazil: 7 (compared to 5 from Aus and 5 from USA/Hawaii)
• QS qualifiers from Brazil: 4 (compared to 3 from Aus and 1 from USA/Hawaii)
• Total Brazilian surfers on 2019 CT: 11 (compared to 8 from Aus and 6 from USA)

And the fans fucking love it. Photo: WSL

These figures leave no room for debate.

Brazil is the world’s dominant surfing nation and that probably won’t change anytime soon.

With that, there’s only one thing left to say on the matter:

Cry is free!

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