Gallery: Yago Dora Takes Over World No. 1 at J-Bay

No, it wasn’t a rewind. Just like he did yesterday, Yago Dora landed a second lofty backside full rotation when he needed to. Trailing João Chianca in the first heat of the morning, Yago had to swap boards after he busted a fin on a botched floater. With eight minutes left, Yago required a high 6 to get past Joao. He took off on a wobbly right, carved through several sections before punting into the dawn.  

“I broke the tip of my fin, and that was my magic board,”  Yago said. “I didn’t want to change boards, so I just caught a wave in to change the fin. There was a long lull, so I tried to stay patient and wait for an opportunity. It was a weird wave, so I knew I would have to go big again. The second best feeling in surfing is flying through the air and landing in the flats, it’s so scary, so when you pull it off, it feels so good.”

While Yago’s 9 was the most impactful score of the 8 men’s Round of 16 heats, the biggest storyline was the top of the rankings. Yago is up to first on the leaderboard, and Jordy Smith is down one spot courtesy of Marco Mignot, the tenacious rookie from France by way of Saululita, Mexico. 

With the swell in steep decline, Marco took out the South African by catching waves on the inside. Jordy’s first wave was good, not great (6.67), and was punctuated with an air reverse onto the rocks. But Marco simply showed more variety and got more opportunities. His pocket 7s forced Jordy to wait out the back for a gem that never showed. Jordy’s second wave came with just 3 and a half minutes left. He clubbed it three times before it died, and Marco advanced to the quarters. 

“If you take on No. 1, and you beat him, it’s a bigger reward,” Marco said. “I always want to surf against the best and push myself. These moments are special, to share it with Jordy, the king of J-Bay, but I’m super happy to take the win. Before coming here, I was watching clips of Jordy, because I think he’s the best out here.”

If scrappiness won out in Marco versus Jordy, then Leonardo Fioravanti versus Jack Robinson was a reversal of fortune. Leo needed just two waves to put together his heat total, while Robbo looked uncharacteristically vexed. Midway through, he the best wave of the heat, a 7.93, then couldn't find anything to back it up. In total Jack, paddled into 11 waves and kicked out of 10 of them. The Italian was outwardly hyped after beating Jack for the first time in his career (0-6 previously).

Speaking of first wins, Griffin Colapinto got his first win over his friend Cole Houshmand in a rematch of the Rio Pro. Griffin’s carves were a clear notch over Cole's, and Griffin sealed the deal with a clean slob air on the end section. He’s now made the quarters in four straight events (Margaret River, Trestles, Saquarema, and J-Bay). 

“It feels good,” said Colapinto. “This one matters to me because I want to make the Final 5. I think (Cole’s) stoked for me after winning Brazil, and he’s like a big brother to me, but I’m in that position now where every heat is important.”

Indeed, it is. Now ranked No. 6, Griffin has a massive heat against No. 3 Kanoa Igarashi in the quarters. Kanoa looked stellar in his heat, looking calm and cool on his turns despite the devil wind coming up the face. 

Filipe Toledo did Filipe Toledo things against Barron Mamiya. The conditions were clean in the afternoon, but the swell was clearly dropping off. Still, Filipe grabbed a swallowtail, sliced a few sections and did several full rotations on his way to a convincing win. 

Score-wise, the all-goofyfoot heat of Connor O’Leary and Italo Ferreira was tighter than the neckline of a new wetsuit. Connor advanced by 5 tenths of a point, 12.83 to 12.33. The difference was Conner's steep attack for an 8.50. 

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In the last heat of the day, the waves dipped into the head-to-shoulder range for Ethan Ewing and Jake Marshall. Jake went big on several sections, but perhaps leaning too hard on the gas, and fell at several key sections. Ethan, meanwhile, got some cheeky barrels and whalloped crumbling lips on his path to the quarters. 

The comp will be off for the next few days. The next window will open at 7:45 a.m. GMT+1 on Wednesday, July 16. That’s 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Pacific Standard Time. Men’s and women’s quarterfinals are set, and top five spots in both camps are up for grabs. Will Yago keep hold of his new yellow jersey, or will another take the reins before Teahupo’o? See you in a few days. 

Corona Cero Open J-Bay Men’s Round of 16 Results:

HEAT 1: Yago Dora (BRA) 14.57 DEF. João Chianca (BRA) 13.67

HEAT 2: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 13.34 DEF. Jack Robinson (AUS) 9.76

HEAT 3: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.50 DEF. Crosby Colapinto (USA) 9.33

HEAT 4: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 14.37 DEF. Cole Houshmand (USA) 12.57

HEAT 5: Marco Mignot (FRA) 14.57 DEF. Jordy Smith (RSA) 11.17

HEAT 6: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.97 DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW) 10.60

HEAT 7: Connor O'Leary (JPN) 12.83 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.33

HEAT 8: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 12.00 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 10.00

Corona Cero Open J-Bay Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups:

HEAT 1: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)

HEAT 2: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Griffin Colapinto (USA)

HEAT 3: Marco Mignot (FRA) vs. Filipe Toledo (BRA)

HEAT 4: Connor O'Leary (JPN) vs. Ethan Ewing (AUS)

Corona Cero Open J-Bay Women’s Quarterfinal Matchups:

HEAT 1: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)

HEAT 2: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Caroline Marks (USA)

HEAT 3: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA)

HEAT 4: Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) vs. Isabella Nichols (AUS)

Gallery: Yago Dora Takes Over World No. 1 at J-Bay first appeared on Surfer on Jul 13, 2025