{"id":411350,"date":"2026-04-26T06:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T06:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/411350\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T06:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T06:42:08","slug":"im-frothing-george-pittar-breaks-eight-year-surfing-duck-with-margaret-pro-win-surfing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/411350\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m frothing\u2019: George Pittar breaks eight-year surfing duck with Margaret Pro win | Surfing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last time George Pittar competed at the Margaret River Pro, a mainstay stop of the World Surf League, it was a very different story. The Manly-born, Vanuatu-raised surfer arrived in Western Australia in May last year needing a run of wins in the heavy conditions to avoid the championship tour\u2019s dreaded mid-season \u201ccut\u201d<\/a>. But a round of 32 loss to Brazil\u2019s Miguel Pupo meant that Pittar\u2019s time at surfing\u2019s top table was over halfway through his rookie campaign.<\/p>\n

Having trudged up the Margaret River main break steps, a deflated Pittar found a quiet spot in the corner of the athletes\u2019 area. Sitting on a railing amid drying wetsuits, a towel covering his head and face in his hands, Pittar did not move for 15 minutes \u2013 disconsolate, a dream over before it really began.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, before contesting the final of this year\u2019s event, the 23-year-old returned to the same spot. \u201cJust before that final, I went and sat just where I sat last year when I fell off tour,\u201d he said after beating Gabriel Medina to win the event. \u201cI was like: \u2018It\u2019s kinda crazy how different the feelings are.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After falling off tour, Pittar climbed a mountain to return \u2013 finishing fourth in the second-tier Challenger Series, a gruelling slog of far-flung waves and hardened competitors<\/a>. Following a strong start to the season at Bells Beach earlier this month, Pittar arrived in the West to ascend another mountain.<\/p>\n

The Australian opened his event against two-time world champion Felipe Toledo. The Brazilian had the better of the opening exchanges, before Pittar nailed an eight-point ride to win the heat. After seeing off Italy\u2019s Leo Fioravanti in the next round, another Brazilian was waiting in the quarter-finals on Saturday: reigning world champion Yago Dora.<\/p>\n

Pittar struggled for much of the 35 minute heat, failing to piece together a score to rival Dora. But with five seconds on the clock, the Australian paddled into a right-hand wall and produced three big hacks to find the points he needed \u2013 winning by a mere 0.07.<\/p>\n

George Pittar after progressing into the semi-finals at the Margaret River Pro. Photograph: Hannah Anderson\/World Surf League<\/p>\n

On Sunday, it was another heat and another Brazilian ex-world champion \u2013 Pittar saw off \u00cdtalo Ferreira in the semi-final, finding the better opportunities in a close encounter. And then, another heat, another Brazilian world champion: three-time WSL winner Medina, a former Margaret River Pro victor, stood between Pittar and his maiden championship tour event victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven world titles \u2013 eight if you count the coach [Medina\u2019s coach, former Brazilian world champion Adriano de Souza],\u201d noted beachside interviewer Vaughan Blakey on the broadcast. Pittar, in just his 11th WSL event, had beaten them all; a wave scored at nine points, the highest of the competition, clinching the final with an exclamation point.<\/p>\n

It was, Pittar remarked afterwards, the first event he had won since a junior \u201cgrom\u201d competition when he was only 15. After a childhood surfing perfect, empty waves in Vanuatu \u2013 Pittar is fluent in the local language, Bislama, and has a cult following among Ni-Vanuatu surf fans \u2013 the transition to competitive surfing was not necessarily an easy one. The youngster was never hyped as a surf prodigy or won junior world titles. But with his smooth, flowing style and powerful turns, Pittar increasingly looks at home among the world\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

Coming after such a difficult 2025 season, Pittar\u2019s first competition win in almost a decade felt even sweeter. \u201cWe had such a hard year last year, falling off tour,\u201d Pittar said afterwards. \u201cIt was hard, man. It felt like we were just pushing shit uphill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following those lows, Pittar has returned to the tour with newfound confidence. After winning his semi-final on Sunday morning, Pittar\u2019s compatriots went searching for an Australian flag \u2013 such was their confidence that the underdog would triumph against Medina. It was the same confidence he channelled to victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to [have that confidence],\u201d said Pittar, draped in the flag. \u201cI can\u2019t think I\u2019m just another number making up the rankings any more. I want to be on here, I want to be a competitor, I want to be at the top. I just feel \u2013 even if it\u2019s fake confidence, fucking believe it. I\u2019m frothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the competition venue earlier this week, a site of such mixed emotions for Pittar, Empire of the Sun song Walking on a Dream played over the speaker system. The tune resonated with the Australian. \u201cThat\u2019s what it has felt like this week, honestly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Australian now heads to the next event of the year, on the Gold Coast starting on Friday, as the second-best surfer in the world rankings. With his versatility across big faces and big barrels, this is unlikely to be the last world surfing hears from George Pittar. What a difference a year makes. \u201cI can\u2019t believe I just did it,\u201d he said. \u201cFucking oath, I won a CT [championship tour event].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last time George Pittar competed at the Margaret River Pro, a mainstay stop of the World Surf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-411350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}