Picklum Retains Yellow Jersey with Second Place at Corona Cero Open J-Bay
- wgclients01
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
Molly Picklum narrowly missed out on victory at the Corona Cero Open J-Bay on Friday but will head into the final event of the 2025 World Surf League (WSL) regular season with the Yellow Jersey after retaining her position at the top of the women’s standings.
Here is all you need to know:
Following her triumph in Saquarema, Brazil, last month, Picklum arrived in South Africa's Eastern Cape full of confidence and determined to produce another strong showing in the penultimate event of the regular season.
The Australian, who had already clinched her spot in the WSL Final 5, excelled in her quarter-final against American Lakey Peterson, securing a 15.84 to 11.27 victory to book a place in the semi-finals against the in-form Isabella Nichols.
The all-Australian clash was a tight one but it was Picklum who made the most of the excellent conditions, edging the contest 13.64 to 12.00 to set up a mouth-watering final against American Gabriela Bryan.
Having taken out 2023 World Champion Caroline Marks in the semi-finals, Bryan was full of confidence and took a narrow lead in the final with just 90 seconds left. Picklum waited for the ideal wave but eventually ran out of time as she slipped to a narrow 13.60 to 13.34 defeat.
Bryan said: “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I came here early, putting in a lot of time here, and it paid off. I’m so stoked. It’s been a dream of mine to win here at J-Bay. It’s an iconic wave and one of my favourites in the world.”
Victory meant that Bryan secured her place in the Top 5, where she was joined by American Caity Simmers, whose run to the quarter-finals was enough to secure a spot in the WSL Finals. Marks currently sits in sixth but will be confident of delivering a strong showing at the Lexus Tahiti Pro, an event she won in 2023.
In the men’s competition, Griffin Colapinto moved to within striking distance of a place in the Top 5 after securing a thrilling 15.03 to 14.13 victory over Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi in the quarter-finals. The American would suffer an agonisingly narrow defeat in the semi-finals to eventual winner Connor O’Leary but is now sixth in the world rankings.
After overcoming Colapinto, O’Leary produced a flawless backhand attack to secure the event’s only 10-point ride in his semi-final victory over three-time J-Bay winner Filipe Toledo before capturing his first-ever Championship Tour title, courtesy of a 15.67 to 14.23 victory over Brazil’s Yago Dora.
O’Leary said: “I don’t have any words. I’m just so happy with how I performed. All the stars aligned for this one, so I’m stoked. It felt good to have so many people cheering for me, and then to perform for them.”
Despite missing out on victory in South Africa, Dora clinched his spot in the WSL Final 5, marking his first appearance in the Lexus WSL Finals to compete for the World Title. The final four spots are still up for grabs, but Jordy Smith, Kanoa Igarashi and Italo Ferreira are well-positioned in second, third and fourth place, respectively.
The next stop on the 2025 Championship Tour will be the Lexus Tahiti Pro, which starts on August 7 and is the final regular-season event before the one-day, winner-take-all Lexus WSL Finals in Cloudbreak, Fiji.
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