CONTEST NEWS: Corona Cero Open J-Bay is a Wrap!
Jeffreys Bay did not disappoint.
The Corona Cero Open kicked off under golden skies and a thumping weekend pulse, dishing up clean lines and good energy from the start. Locals and travelling tourists lined the dunes as J-Bay served up a classic opening run, the kind that gets everyone remembering why this stop is sacred.
But the joyride didn’t last for all. South African hopes were dashed early as Jordy bowed out in a heartbreaking heat, starved of quality wave, against Marco Mignot. It was a Sunday shocker. The ocean went quiet, and so did the hometown crowd.
Then… we waited.
With the forecast calling for an all-time swell, the comp went on hold. The tension built. Rumours swirled, 40-year charts, endless lines, historic potential. And then Friday came.
And with it, so did the swell.
Six-foot plus perfection reeled down the point as J-Bay lit up like few times before. It was pumping. Surfers were frothing, the beach was heaving, and the vibe? Electric. Easily one of the biggest crowds the event has ever seen. Surf fans gathered along the boardwalk, shoulder to shoulder, beers in hand, grins wide.
The women’s final saw Molly Picklum take on Gabriela Bryan. Molly had been looking sharp all event, powerful, precise, deadly on rail. And in the dying seconds of the final, she had her moment: a clean three-wave set rolled in, the score within reach. But she didn’t swing. Whether it was positioning, hesitation, or fate, we’ll never know and just like that, Gabby Bryan took the win.
The men’s final was an all-goofy-foot showdown between Yago Dora and Connor O’Leary. On paper, Yago had the edge. But the crowd and the momentum were behind Connor. The underdog, winless on the CT, rose to the occasion. With his back to the wall and his backhand firing, he went to town, klapping the lip with searing precision. A clinic in backside surfing. He took the win, his first ever, and sent the beach into full-blown party mode.
As the sun dipped low and the lines kept rolling in, surfers and fans celebrated deep into the night, ice-cold Coronas in hand, music in the air, the kind of South African surf magic that lives long after the swell fades.
J-Bay delivered. And then some.
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