San Clemente surfer Griffin Colapinto earned his first World Tour win, a huge maiden victory battling against the world’s best in Portugal.

In the finals on Sunday, Colapinto went up against Brazilian Filipe Toledo, who also calls San Clemente home, at the MEO Pro Portugal, the third stop of the World Surf League Championship Tour.

In the women’s event, Tatiana Weston-Webb went up against Santa Barbara surfer Lakey Peterson, who lost in the finals.

The event’s five days saw different types of waves, from big, beefy barrels to smaller, peaky surf for the final day.

Colapinto, who has surfed on the World Championship Tour since 2018 at age 19, showed his strong skills throughout the event, earning the first perfect 10 ride of the season.

In the finals, Toledo posted the first big score for an early lead, but Colapinto was patient, waiting for larger waves to answer back.

“It’s so weird you just get in this mode where you’re not even thinking about it,” Colapinto said in an interview with World Surf League officials. “Even winning doesn’t feel like I thought it would, I’m still in this calm state where it hasn’t even set in.””

His victory allows him to jump up the rankings, from the 20th to the 7th spot, within reach of the Top 5, who will compete in the season’s championships this summer in his backyard at Lower Trestles just south of San Clemente.

“I just can’t believe the people I had to go through to get to this win, it’s as good as it gets,” Colapinto said. He went up against Hawaii’s John John Florence in the semi-finals and beat out the two-time world champion. “Everything I’ve been doing has paid off.”

Colapinto had a shaky start for the season, not making it past the third round for the tour’s first two events. A new mid-year cut puts the pressure on the surfers to do well during the first events of the year to ensure they get to stay on the tour leading up to the finals.

“No matter what, you’re always going to be learning and that’s my favorite part of the sport, that it grows you as a person,” Colapinto said. “Win or lose, you’re growing.”

Growing up in San Clemente, Colapinto was a stand out on the amateur circuit, earning two National Scholastic Surfing Association titles and two USA Surfing championships.

He started off strong when he joined the ranks of the world’s best, earning the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing in 2017, the only Californian to ever stake claim to the title and the first from the mainland since Kelly Slater won in 1998.

He’s had several third place finishes through the years, but Sunday’s victory is his best yet.

Toledo’s second-place finish puts him in a strong spot, currently ranked No. 4. He beat out fellow Brazilian and Olympic gold medalist Italo Ferreira in the semi-finals to match up with Colapinto in the finals.

Another Orange County stand-out is Huntington Beach surfer Kanoa Igarashi, who surfs for Japan. He earned the yellow jersey to signify he’s at the top of the rankings based on overall points earned in the first three events.

In the women’s competition, Peterson’s runner-up finish was the second year she’s come up short – in 2019, she lost in the finals against San Clemente’s Caroline Marks.

“It’s almost harder when you get so close, you’re right there and miss out on the win,” Peterson told WSL officials in her interview. “It’s a great start. Bummed I didn’t get the win, but congrats to (Weston-Webb), she’s a really deserving champion and it was great to have a heat with her. I’m happy with my performance, but definitely hungry for more.”

The next stop is the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, will happen during April 10-20 in Australia.

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