Dakoda Walters and Joel Vaughan, two of Australian surfing’s hottest young prospects, had been egging each other on all day, like a pair of kids climbing further and further up a high-dive board.
Which isn’t that far from reality.
So with his final wave of a World Qualifying Series semi-final at Maroubra beach last month, Walters took flight from a three-foot wave into a howling northerly.
Surfer Dakoda Walters breaks his ankle, and wins his semi-final, at Maroubra.Credit: YouTube
The 21-year-old came down with a perfect 10 and a broken ankle.
Welcome to the high-octane world of Australian pro surfing at the moment. Molly Picklum and Jack Robinson have led the way in yellow rashies reserved for the world No.1 at Bells Beach, kicking off the Ripcurl Pro’s April 4-14 window.
The pair lead a 14-strong contingent of Australians on the Championship Tour, with Picklum heading up an especially impressive women’s cohort featuring Tyler Wright (fourth), Macy Callaghan (equal ninth), Sally Fitzgibbons (11th), Stephanie Gilmore (14th), Isabella Nichols (15th) and Sophie McCulloch (16).
Australians on the World Championship Tour in 2023
- Jack Robinson (1st)
- Ethan Ewing (10th)
- Ryan Callinan (13th)
- Liam O’Brien (18th)
- Connor O’Leary (22nd)
- Jackson Baker (27th)
- Molly Picklum (1st)
- Tyler Wright (4th)
- Macy Callaghan (9th)
- Sally Fitzgibbons (11th)
- Stephanie Gilmore (14th)
- Isabella Nichols (15th)
- Sophie McCulloch (16th)
Significantly, and somewhat astonishingly, defending eight-time world champion Gilmore is in genuine danger of missing the mid-year cut after the next tour stop at Margarets River.
Australian surfing’s reigning golden girl of course secured the most memorable of her eight championship triumphs from a similar position last year, but both she and Tokyo Olympian Fitzgibbons need strong results at Bells, and then in WA, just to survive.
“I think the tide is turning with the new generation and there is a new group of Aussie girls that are really pushing what we do in the water,” Picklum tells the Herald.
“So those senior female surfers will be pushed hard to stay on the tour and keep up, let alone win world titles.
“But at the same time, Steph is so experienced and so good, and those guys are in that position for a reason to begin with, you couldn’t write them off.
“I definitely think Aussie surfing, it was a bit slow for a while. But Jack and I now, we’re sitting as No. 1s in the world, and we look at each other and give that smile every time we paddle past each other. You know that there’s this new push in Australian surfing.
“Australia’s strong, we’re passionate about our surfing, and we want those wins. The tide is turning and it’s not the Brazilian Storm any more, the Aussies are coming. I love it.”
Like Walters and Vaughan racking up frequent flyer points at Maroubra, Picklum, still only 20, revels in talking a big game and backing it up in the water.
Molly Picklum takes flight in Tahiti last year.Credit: Domenic Mosqueira/Red Bull
Two-time world champion Tyler Wright is now 29 and a veteran of 12 tours. So she’s circumspect, wary of talking up the next generation after her own struggles in the spotlight as a teen.
“These guys are really young and I’ve been through that hype and pressure,” she cautions.
“I’m here as support and I do really understand all the new things and experiences they’re facing. I don’t ever want to put pressure on kids that aren’t ready for it, but I am excited to see where they go with it all.”
Meanwhile, Walters’ broken ankle has him stuck on the Gold Coast recovering for now, robbing him of a chance to push for a spot on next year’s world tour.
Dakoda Walters at age 18, competing in the 2019 Taiwan Open.Credit: AAP
But his aerial duel with Vaughan – 19 and hailing from the same Shelly Beach stomping ground as Picklum – had plenty of good judges thrilled by the ultra-aggressive, progressive surfing that is often left on the beach during competition.
Walters too has taken note of Robinson’s slow burn to the top, coming more than a decade after the West Australian was first touted as the sport’s “next Kelly Slater”.
“That semi with Joel, it was so fun, we were just going back and forth, pushing each other,” Walters says.
“I landed the last one, got the 10 and heard this pop, a massive bang like a gunshot. I thought I’d actually broken my leg at the time, but it was my ankle and I’ll be back in about two months.”
The Angourie native had ummed and ahhed about truly chasing a competitive career until this year, preferring to spend his time free-surfing, wherever and however he liked.
World number one Jack Robinson setting the bar rather high at Bells Beach on day one of the Ripcurl Pro.Credit: Ed Sloane/World Surf League
The free-surfing path taken by Robinson, and Tyler Wright’s brother Mikey before him, to the pro-circuit, has Walters now pursuing the best of both worlds in similar fashion.
“It’s very cool seeing someone like Jack who competed, then did other things and is now really successful,” Walters says.
“The risk v reward in competitive surfing, you can win most of your heats surfing a bit more conservatively, and that’s sweet. But I’ve always loved pushing that different space with airs [aerial manoeuvres] and find it hard to hold back in that scenario.
“But I watched other events at home while I was injured, and it felt like it might have got a few people fired up. I saw more and more aggressive surfing like that, and it’s very cool to see.”
Picklum too is finding life at the top to be a new bag. Before switching into contest mode at Bells last week, her competition lead-in included dining with Optus representatives. Lunching with Porsche. Attending the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne. Appearing on Channel 7’s AFL coverage.
Seems everyone wants a piece of “The Pickle”. Even WSL chief Erik Logan is an unabashed fan. “I was literally begging to get one of her jerseys from that first CT win at Pipeline,” Logan laughs. “I was definitely trying to pull some strings there in the Pickle camp. But no luck yet.”
Jack Robinson, Caitlin Simmers (USA) and Molly Picklum at Bells Beach.Credit: Ed Sloane/World Surf League
The sport’s chief executive knows a compelling story when he sees it. Logan was Oprah’s right-hand man when she launched her own TV channel and is an executive producer on the WSL’s documentary series Make or Break.
“The maturity that Molly carries herself with as a 20-year-old is really, really impressive,” Logan says of her interactions with surfing’s corporate side.
“And then when she puts the jersey on, she’s relentless. She has the ability to tune out the ‘bigness’ of the tour.
“We see it in rookie surfers and second-year surfers all the time. They make a run through the challenger series, they get to the show and the pressure of the show just crushes them, they struggle. To see Pickles and what she’s doing this year is beyond impressive.”
All things going to plan, she’ll have more Australian company at the top soon enough.
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