Olympic medallist Jack Robinson leads Aussie charge at World Surf League finals

Jack Robinson will headline a trio of surfing Olympians who will lead Australia’s world title charge when the WSL finals launch at the famous Trestles break.

Olympic silver medallist Jack Robinson leads a list of three Aussies vying for their first championship title when the World Surf League finals are held this weekend in the biggest single day of surfing on the calendar.

The window for the event at Lower Trestles opens early Saturday morning (AEST) and prevailing conditions mean it is likely to go ahead straight away, pitching Robinson and fellow Olympians Ethan Ewing and Molly Picklum into head-to-head knockout battles for the title.

Robinson, who ended the regular season in third place, seems the man most likely from the trio to progress through knockout battles and into a best-of-three decider against series leader and two-time world champion John John Florence.

Jack Robinson will be back in action at the World Surf League finals this weekend. Picture: Getty Images

The pair met in the final at Margaret River in April, where the West Australian prevailed to win the title in a battle between two men known for their ability in big surf.

It’s now more than a decade since an Aussie male has won the world title, with Mick Fanning the last in 2013, when he snared his third title.

Robinson, who has won two titles this year - at Sunset Beach and Margaret River - has long been regarded as a man likely to join the list.

“I think he’s always been that guy - the prodigy, win a world title, “ WSL commentator Joe Turpel said.

“He’s not a guy where he needs good waves to win. He could win in challenging heats, when someone’s crawling up his back - he’ll enter that (mind) space and he has such a present moment in himself where he is there.”

Robinson, who has become a father in the past 12 months and picked up Olympic silver at Tahiti’s famous Teahupo’o break just last month, is looking forward to the challenge of finals.

“I feel like everyone just fires me up now, from Kelly (11-time world champion Kelly Slater) to the youngest guy on tour, it all just fires me up,” Robinson said.

Ethan Ewing faces a tough road to the top. Picture: AFP

“Any little thing just gets me excited - that’s after having the baby.

“I just live for those moments when someone else is trying to battle me, I just live for it.”

The WSL introduced the finals concept in 2021, with the top five surfers on the world championship tour rankings competing in a single day of head-to-head contests to determine the eventual champion.

The controversial concept leaves Robinson (ranked 3), Ewing (4) and Picklum (4) all still in the running to be crowned champion.

It’s a tough road to the top for Ewing and Picklum in particular though, who will be involved in the opening knockout contest, against Brazilians Italo Ferreira and Tatiana Weston-Webb.

Both would need to win three knockouts in a row to progress to a three-heat final against tour leaders John John Florence or Caitlin Simmers.

Ewing, who advanced from third place last year to take on eventual world champ Filipe Toledo in the decider, going down 2-0, certainly knows what it will take to get there.

Molly Picklum of Australia after winning the final at the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach. Photo: World Surf League

“I felt like there was a lot of things I did right last year, so I don’t want to go too far away from what was working,” Ewing said.

“It’s always been my biggest dream to win a world title and hopefully I can get there.”

Picklum started the year with a bang, becoming the first woman to be awarded a perfect 10 for a ride in the final against Simmers before winning the second event of the year at Sunset Beach.

She struggled for excellent results after that though, failing to make it past the quarter-finals until the last event of the regular season in Fiji, where she finished third in an event she hopes can act as a finals springboard.

“You live and dream of heats like that (first round of the finals) to get up and going for the world title, to keep your dream alive, Picklum said.

“I’m really excited to (to Trestles), I really love that wave. I’m really looking forward to going back there and pitting my best foot forward and just letting my surfing do the talking.”