Raupp and Motta Win the LayBack Pro presented by Billabong

Event winners Laura Raupp (BRA) and Eduardo Motta (BRA) on the podium at Praia Mole. Image credit: / Marcio David / LayBack Pro

Sunday, November 14, 2021

Following an impeccable return of WSL events to Brazil, the LayBack Pro presented by Billabong finished off in incredible fashion with the 15-year-old local surfer Laura Raupp (BRA) defeating Melanie Giunta (PER) in the Women’s QS1000 and saw 19-year-old Eduardo Motta (BRA) best Michael Rodrigues (BRA) in the Men’s QS3000 in front of an immense crowd at Praia Mole, in Florianópolis, Brazil.

• Latest generation of Brazilian talent takes out the event in Floripa

• Motta defeats Michael Rodrigues in Men’s QS3000 Final

• 15-year-old Raupp wins Women’s QS1000 over Melanie Giunta

• For more information, visit WorldSurfLeague.com

“This is so incredible, I’m so happy that I don’t know what to say, I’m speechless,” were the first words out of Raupp’s mouth after being chaired up the beach in front of her hometown crowd. “Conditions weren’t easy, but we had plenty of waves throughout the week. I even blew out my tail on a set wave after trying to hit the lip as hard as I could. But the crowd today was remarkable. This was my first QS event ever and I won, so this will always be with me. Now it’s time to reset and get ready for the next event in Saquarema and try for another good result there,” said Raupp.

The Women’s QS1000 Final was the first to hit the water at the LayBack Pro presented by Billabong on Sunday with waves in the 4-6 foot range (1.5 – 2 meters) under a pristine sunny sky. Due to strong currents and heavy conditions, jet ski assist was put into play.

After a slow start, Giunta, who won a QS event in Santa Catarina in 2018, took an early lead, but quickly relinquished it after Raupp found a steep righthander and threw a series of frontside snaps. Raupp and Giunta continued to go blow-for-blow earning mid-range scores from the judges. But it was the young Brazilian that came out victorious by a score of 11.20 to 10.74 after the final horn sounded.

“Although it was my first Qualifying Series event, I came here with a focus on doing my best and I was able to accomplish that. I truly believe in my surfing and I came here to show what I could do. The event was unbelievable and I just want to thank everyone that’s been showing their support, my sponsors and especially to my parents that have always been there for me. There’s nothing better than competing and winning my first QS event at home that was run by my sponsor LayBack,” concluded Raupp.

To put things into perspective, Raupp was able to repeat the incredible feat carried out 12 years ago at Praia Mole in 2009, when a 15-year-old Gabriel Medina (BRA) became the youngest surfer ever to win a Qualifying Series event. Medina is the reigning 3-time WSL World Champion, leaving a dominant career path for Raupp to follow.

In the Men’s QS3000, youth once again played a role in the outcome. In the Semifinals, Motta was able to defeat the #1 seeded surfer of the event, the talented Championship Tour surfer Yago Dora (BRA). Then topped it off by taking out another local surfer and former CT athlete, Michael Rodrigues (BRA), who has been living in Floripa for the past ten years.

As the moderate winds picked up throughout the day, conditions became more difficult in the early afternoon with longer lulls despite the powerful sets that marched through the Praia Mole lineup. In another Final decided by mid-range scores, Motta defeated Rodrigues by a final score of 11.74 to 10.50 respectively.

“I literally have no words to describe what I’m feeling right now, it’s just extreme happiness. I’ve put in so much hard work and dedication to get here and thankfully today was my day,” said an emotional Motta. “But I know there’s still a lot of work to be done, so I’m going to celebrate today, but I’ll keep my feet on the ground for the next upcoming events. I knew all the heats were going to be difficult today. All the athletes here have the same objective, so I’m stoked to have beat so many talented surfers. I didn’t come here as one of the event favorites and I knew the odds were against me, but sometimes that’s a good thing. I just feel blessed to have won and I hope more victories are on the way.”

Upon completion of the first event of the 2021-2022 WSL Latin America regional rankings which will determine qualification for the WSL Challenger Series, Motta sits in 1st place with 3,000 points with his victory, while Laura Raupp is in the lead with 1,000 points. The event runner-ups Rodrigues and Giunta are in 2nd with 2,400 and 800 points respectively.

The LayBack Pro presented by Billabong (Men's & Women's) is brought to you by the Santa Catarina Surf Federation (FECASURF) and the Agência Esporte Arte (AEA) and is a WSL Qualifying Series licensed by WSL Latin America. The event is sponsored by Corona and GND Incorporadora with support from the City of Florianópolis, through the Department of Culture, Sports and Leisure, the Municipal Sports Foundation, Hotel Selina Floripa, the Praia Mole Surf Association (ASPM) and the surf news/forecast website Waves. The event is being streamed live on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL app.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com

CLICK HERE FOR FULL MEN'S QS3000 RESULTS

CLICK HERE FOR FULL WOMEN'S QS1000 RESULTS

About the WSL

Established in 1976, the World Surf League (WSL) is the home of the world's best surfing.

A global sports, media and entertainment company, the WSL oversees international tours and competitions, a studios division creating over 500+ hours of live and on-demand content, and via affiliate WaveCo, the home of the world's largest high performance, human-made wave. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the WSL has regional offices in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA.

The WSL annually crowns the men’s and women’s surfing World Champions. The global Tours and Competition division oversees and operates more than 180 global contests each year across the Championship Tour, the development tiers, including the Challenger, Qualifying and Junior Series, as well as longboard and big wave properties.

Launched in 2019, WSL Studios is an independent producer of unscripted television projects, including documentaries and series, which provide unprecedented access to athletes, events, and locations around the world. WSL events and content are distributed on linear television in over 743M+ homes worldwide and across digital and social media platforms around the world, including WorldSurfLeague.com.

WaveCo includes the Surf Ranch Lemoore facility and the utilizing and licensing of the Kelly Slater Wave System.

The WSL is dedicated to changing the world through the inspirational power of surfing by creating authentic events, experiences, and storytelling to inspire a growing, global community to live with purpose, originality, and stoke.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

Press Release Source: www.worldsurfleague.com / WSL Latin America