Last Time John Wore Yellow At The MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, He Won The Comp + The World Title

"My whole life has been going towards this, everything I've done," Florence said after claiming his first World Title at Supertubos in 2016. "This year especially, learning so much about competitive surfing and focusing so hard on it. And with the all support I've had, it's been the best year of my life." Florence had been in the surfing spotlight since the five-year-old kid with the shock of blonde hair had started surfing Pipeline. He had progressed serenely to the CT ranks by 2011, a World Title often posited as inevitable. Yet, even up to 2016, it wasn't certain his once-in-generational skills were entirely transferable to the competitive realm. Yet even in a year in which he had progressively added heat strategy and confidence to his dynamic surfing, perhaps no event showcased the then 24-year-old's shiny, new bulletproof competitive armor than here in Portugal. The Final became a Florence expression-session slash freesurf edit, as he iced the cake by surfing at warp speed and to his awe-inspiring full potential. It was a performance that, at the time, signaled the future domination of the sport. ----- After two events in paradise, the Championship Tour turns up the heat with a cold water clash in Portugal. Before an iconic European backdrop and a packed beach, the tour will throw down in Peniche’s shifting ramps and detonating barrels. Watch live Mar 6-16 Watch All The Action On worldsurfleague.com At the start of the Quarterfinals, coverage in the United States can be found exclusively on worldsurfleague.com, the WSL app, and ESPN+. Also, coverage in Brazil can be found exclusively on worldsurfleague.com, the WSL app, and Globo Play. Subscribe to the WSL for more action: https://goo.gl/VllRuj Watch all the latest surfing action of the world's best surfers in the world's best waves. Heats on demand, event highlights and exclusive interviews, right here on the WSL's Youtube channel. For More Visit: https://ift.tt/XAYJ4Qp Like the WSL on Facebook: https://ift.tt/ARj02Hf Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wsl Follow us on Instagram: https://ift.tt/wFniO4x World Surf League https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLdFXsKLSlo