Team SA Olympian surfer Jordy Smith has won the Margaret River Pro event in Australia to take him to No1 in the World Surf League’s Championship Tour rankings.
The 37-year-old Smith, who represented Team SA at the Paris 2024 Games, is the the oldest surfer on tour and has bagged two wins this season for the first time in his 18-year career as he chases that long-overdue World Championship title.
The men’s final was the first time Smith and Griffin Colapinto surfed a man-on-man heat since J-Bay in 2022. Jordy now has a 5-1 record over Griffin.
Smith dedicated his latest victory to surf filmmaker Jack McCoy, who died on Tuesday. “He’s someone who has inspired me throughout my whole life,” the South African said. “All his movies and his videos. His family, this is for you guys. I’m ending all my love and prayers to you guys.”
Smith made the most of the slight swell on tap, less than a week after Main Break offered up some of its biggest waves on record.
The Margaret River event has served as a crucial mid-year cut point for the tour, after which lower-ranked competitors are relegated back to the qualifying circuit, a format which has divided surf fans.
It was announced earlier this year that the feature would be dropped in 2026, and tour organisers would reintroduce a more traditional cumulative points winner to determine titles for the 2026 season.
By winning the event, Smith grabbed the yellow jersey and world No1 rank over Italo Ferreira and clinched the inaugural Aussie Treble (best combined results from Bells, Burleigh, and Margaret River) and will soon be driving the fam around in a new GWM Tank 300.
