Back to Articles
If you haven’t been following our “Breaking Through” series here this year (really? we’re hurt), you may not realize that Blenders brand ambassador, Lakey Peterson, has been putting in WORK. As such, she’s in contention for the 2019 WSL Championship Tour (CT) World Title.
Even if you have been following along with us, with only one event left on the CT, we figured it was high time for a refresher on where things stand among the best women’s surfers in the world. And specifically, Lakey Peterson, because yes, we’re biased and proud of it.
The Current World #2
Lakey didn’t fly out of the gate laying waste to her competition this year, but she’s settled in and steadily begun turning in consistently inspired performances.
Lakey’s season took a swift turn at Margaret River Pro in Western Australia in June, where she notched her first 2019 win and her fourth career WSL event title overall. Citing a fear of the sharks, she had never won this event previously.
"Lakey was really scared of the sharks and the power of the waves when she first started coming to West Oz," said her coach Mike Parsons. "But I told her that her surfing suits this place. I told her she would win this event one day and she thought I was crazy.”
Building her case for world title contention, Lakey followed Margaret River Pro with a runner-up performance at J-Bay in July and a much-heralded #1 vs #2 semifinal showdown at Roxy Pro in Hossegor, France in October, where she fell to eventual event winner, Carissa Moore. But it was her standout performance at Freshwater Pro at Lemoore (Cali’s Surf Ranch) in September that cemented her current spot as World #2. Lakey took out Johanne Defay of France with a 9.33 score in the closing minutes, including a critical air-reverse in the Bonus Run.
“I just can’t believe it, I feel like God was just with me on that one and I gave it everything I had,” Lakey said at Freshwater Pro. “It all just came together today and it’s super special. I want to dedicate this win to everyone who was a part of the climate strike after watching everything on TV yesterday and how much our Earth needs our help right now.”
Lakey’s Chances at a Title
The women’s Jeep Leaderboard to date:
1 - Carissa Moore (HAW) - 58,600 pts
2 - Lakey Peterson (USA) - 55,125 pts
3 - Caroline Marks (USA) - 53,410 pts
4 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) - 48,950 pts
5 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) - 44,555 pts
Following another runner-up performance late last month at MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, Lakey has positioned herself pretty darn decency for a world title, nipping at the heels of Carissa Moore.
Here’s how things need to shake out for Lakey at this season’s final CT stop:
- If Carissa Moore nabs the Maui event title, that’s game over for Lakey, straight up.
- If Moore earns 2nd, Lakey must grab 1st to wrest the world title from Moore.
- If Moore gets 3rd, Lakey requires 2nd to earn the title, provided Caroline Marks doesn’t win the event.
- If Moore receives a 5th/9th/17th, Peterson need only earn bronze unless Marks grabs 2nd, in which case there would be a 3-way Surf Off for the World Title.
And although this recap was all about Lakey the Legend, the men’s side shows even more parity at the top, with Medina and Ferreira within a hair’s breadth of one another. In fact, while there are three women in contention for the title (Moore, Peterson, and Marks), there are FIVE men, as follows:
1 - Italo Ferreira (BRA) - 51,070 pts
2 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) - 50,005 pts
3 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) - 49,985 pts
4 - Filipe Toledo (BRA) - 49,145 pts
5 - Kolohe Andino (USA) - 44,665 pts
See who wins the crown when the Hawaii Pro (women) pops off this November 25 - December 6, and the Billabong Pipe Masters (men) goes down December 8-20.
