Griffin Colapinto is having a banner year. Last week, the 19-year-old became the latest face to emerge out of the deep pool of talent in San Clemente California to crack the global elite. His runner-up finish at the Hawaiian Pro clinched him a spot on the 2018 Championship Tour.
Colapinto's no stranger to solid Hawaiian performances. During the 2016 event at Haleiwa he pulled the move of the event, and he's been a standout during free-surf sessions at Pipeline and Off the Wall. That said, he's hoping to settle a little score with Sunset this year. At the Vans World Cup in 2016 Colapinto lost early during one of the best surfed battles of the event. He was edged out by Hawaiians Josh Moniz and Finn McGill in the highest-scoring heat of Round Three. Only four tenths of a point separated Colapinto from McGill, the heat winner. Colapinto's 15.47 heat total would have won 10 out of the 12 heats in that round. Obviously, it was a tough pill to swallow.
Griffin is responding in the best way possible: By putting time in at the legendary break. And based on the bits we've seen of his surfing out there, he looks ready for some redemption.