The wave’s lip folded over, just enough for Griffin Colapinto to crouch down, disappearing inside its barrel.

The San Clemente surfer had already delivered two massive turns on the wave that showed up with just seconds left on the clock. If he could just punch through to the end of the barrel, there was a good chance he could have earned the score needed to overtake his opponent, Yago Dora, of Brazil, in the world championship bout in Fiji on Monday, Sept. 1.

But the wave shut down over Colapinto’s board and body – and wiped out his chances at the 2025 World Surf League world championship title.

The WSL Finals held at Cloudbreak in Fiji left two local surfers with runner-up finishes, with Colapinto and Caroline Marks, who moved from Florida to San Clemente a decade ago, coming up shy

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