Maldives-: “This is one of those days I’m going to remember forever!” said Jadson Andre, grinning from ear-to-ear after winning the opening round and launching the 2024 edition of the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy in spectacular fashion.
The world’s most luxurious surfing event kicked off in fine style with single fin surfboards proving a conduit to stylish performances and incredible tube riding on day one. Sultans provided a perfect canvas for an incredible cross-section of the surfing world’s best artists to go to work, with the judges rewarding those who best blended barrel riding and turns.
“Oh my gosh it is absolutely cooking out there,” said two-time event winner Taj Burrow as he first laid eyes on the roping righthanders pouring into lineup. Burrow’s excitement was warranted as the impeccable conditions refused to let up through three rounds of competition, with Andre downing Burrow in a closely fought final to clean sweep the day and move to the top of the Surfing Champions Trophy leaderboard.
The Surfing Champions Trophy sees competitors battle it out in single fin, twin fin and thruster divisions. Start times are staggered from oldest to youngest and in 2024 Burrow will surf 33-minute heats, Jeremy Flores will enter the water at the 28-minute mark, Jadson Andre and Ahmed “Ammaday” Agil a minute after that, while Carissa Moore and Mikey February join the field 26 minutes on the clock.
As the excitement continues to deliver exhilarating action as South Africa’s Mikey February claimed victory in the Thruster Division on Monday, September 2, 2024. With a surprise swell forcing a switch from the scheduled Twin Fin division, competitors took on the challenge with enthusiasm, riding six-foot barrels that transformed Sultans reef into a surfer’s dream.
February stood out amidst a lineup of surfing legends, securing full points and joining Taj Burrow at the top of the leaderboard. “I finally won something!” an elated February shared after his triumph, highlighting the unique challenges of surfing a thruster in such powerful conditions. Reflecting on his win, February recalled his first surf trip to the Maldives at age 14, saying, “To be here at the Four Seasons, competing with all these amazing surfers, is pretty special. I’m pinching myself every time I look around or I’m in the water.”
As the competition heats up, all eyes are now on the final Twin Fin division, which will decide this year’s grand finalists. With pristine conditions expected for the remainder of the event, the excitement is far from over.
Andre set the tone on the first wave of the event, riding a custom made 5’9” Ricardo Martins shape. A beautifully read, deep backhand tube landed him an 8.50 and made it clear that despite only surfing a single fin for the first time this week, his impeccable wave selection and tenacity in the tube were going to make him hard to beat. Andre sat comfortable in the lead while five-time world champion Carissa Moore and local wildcard Ahmed “Ammaday” Agil locked into a back-and-forth tussle for second, the natural-footed Maldivian barrel merchant eventually prevailing.
Burrow took a far tougher route through the first round, the iconic Australian squaring off against Europe’s greatest surfer Jeremy Flores, and South African style merchant freesurf icon Mikey February, in an all-star showdown. While Flores high-scored the affair with a 9.10 for a perfectly threaded double barrel, he couldn’t find a backup wave and Burrow’s 8.40 and 7.90, and February’s 8.0 and 7.87, all recorded for deep tubes, saw them advance to the man-on-man rounds.
The first semi-final between Andre and February came down to the dying minutes, Andre’s impressive 8.27 and 7.33 leaving the tall South African chasing near-perfection for the win as the wave he wanted reared up on the horizon. While a long tube, searing carve and raucous crowd reaction asked the question of the judges, the resulting 9.0 saw February fall just short as Andre moved onto the end game.
Burrow blitzed the second semi, spending more time in the tube than out to throw away a string of high scores, hold onto a pair of nines and record a huge 18.86 two-wave total. Burrow’s last tube was the best of the day, a 9.63 the reward for a gurgling foamball wrestle that left Ammaday chasing a combination of scores as time ran out.
As Andre and Burrow sat in the lineup waiting for their battle to begin, a good-looking wall presented. Andre pounced and although he knew he couldn’t register a score it might just have been the wave that won him the final. “I think I got the best barrel of my life!” said Andre afterwards. “I felt a special connection to my board, this wave, this place. After that I thought I was going to win.”
Andre’s premonition looked strong from the start as the ocean went flat and refused to recognise Burrow’s six-minute head start. Andre promptly threaded deft tubes to win the first two exchanges and establish a lead at the halfway mark, leaving Burrow chasing big Hail Mary barrels to try and snatch the win.
“The final was a bit of a blur to be honest,” laughed Burrow. “Jadson was a competitive machine, cutting laps and getting sick ones. I had a chance to beat him at the end; paddled into one super late, had to knife the take-off and start pumping, and there was no way I was doing it on that board. My fin slid out on the first pump and I fell in the tube looking out at where I wanted to be. Single fins are challenging, but that makes it more rewarding when you get a good one. I’m so happy for Jadson though, he was ripping and that was the best second place I’ve ever had. I’m thrilled.”
“It’s hard to explain how I’m feeling right now!” said an elated Andre after the final. “I got to surf a heat with Carissa Moore, five-time world champion and gold medallist, she’s the best. After that, Mikey February is as good as it gets on a single fin and we had a great heat together. Then a final against Taj Burrow? Come on! We surfed so many heats on tour together, but when he retired eight years ago I never thought this would happen again. Today was a special day.”
The Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy runs from August 29-September 5. The forecast looks impeccable for the rest of the week so stay tuned for updates through the week.
