Tiago Pires | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Born | Lisbon, Portugal | March 13, 1980
Residence | Portugal |
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
Weight | 153 lb (69 kg) |
Surfing career | |
Years active | 1989–present |
Surfing specifications | |
Stance | Regular |
Favorite waves | Coxos |
Favorite maneuvers | Barrels |
Tiago Pires, also known by his nickname "Saca", is a recently retired professional surfer from Portugal. He was the first male Portuguese surfer to qualify for the WSL Elite Tour.
Pires was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1980. He started surfing at the age of 9, winning the sub-14 national championship in 1994 and sub-16 in 1995.
In 1996, when he was 16, he joined the national circuit, where he met José Seabra who later became his coach.
In 1997, he beat several European Juniors at Hossegor to challenge the World Junior Title in 1998. There, he competed against Andy Irons, C.J. Hobgood and Taj Burrow, among others.
In 1999, he joined the WQS (World Qualifying Series) for the first time. A year later, he got his first WQS win at Vila Nova de Gaia.
In 2007 he qualified for the WCT, finishing 31st and requalifying through the WQS. Then in 2009 he got a 24th place in the WCT, finishing 21st a year later, his highest position in the ranking.
In 2013, a serious knee injury halted his progression, and his CT run came to an end after the 2014 season. Even though he entered the qualifying tour in 2015, he realized "he didn't have the competitive drive he used to". [1]
In February 2016 he announced his retirement. Months later, "Saca", a documentary film about his career, premiered in Portugal. [2]
Vincent Sennen "Sunny" Garcia is an American professional surfer. He grew up in Waianae, Hawaii and, after leaving school, debuted on the 1986 Gotcha Pro at Sandy Beach, Oahu, beating the 1984 champ Tom Carroll. His top surfing achievement was becoming the ASP WCT World Champion in 2000 but Garcia also holds the record for most WQS event wins, 22, and holds six Triple Crown of Surfing titles. In addition, he was the second professional surfer to win over $1 million in prize money. He initially retired in 2005 but is now competing again, although in 2008, his hopes for ASP World Tour qualification were dashed with early elimination in the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing.
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup, driving a Honda Civic TCR for Münnich Motorsport. He competed in Formula One between 2005 and 2006 for the Jordan Grand Prix, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams – all different iterations of the same team as it was bought by new owners during a two-year stint as part of the Formula One paddock. He is the only Portuguese driver to have scored a Formula One podium finish, during the controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix.
Sofía Mulánovich Aljovín is a Peruvian surfer. She is a 3-time World Surfing Champion, 1 WSL and 2 ISA world championships,. She is the first Peruvian surfer ever to win a World Surf League World Championship Tour event and the first Latin American ever to win the World Title, which she did in 2004. In 2004, she won three out of the six World Championship Tour events, and finished the season as Absolute World Champion. Sofia is the only one Latin-american surfer to win 2 ISA World Championships. Sofia won the ISA Championships, 2004 in Salinas-Ecuador and 2019 in Miyazaki-Japan. Her main sponsor is Roxy.
Patrick Shane Dorian, or "Shane", is an American surfer from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He spent 11 years touring on the World Championship Tour as a professional surfer. Dorian quit competition surfing in 2003 to focus on big waves. He is currently a big wave surfer and one of the best in the world at big wave riding.
Keala Kennelly is a professional surfer, DJ, and actress from Kauai, Hawaii. After spending a decade ranked in the top 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), Kennelly took a break from the tour in 2007 to explore her passions for acting and music, including a recurring role as a surfer in the 2007 series John from Cincinnati. She continues to DJ and compete as a big wave surfer.
Russell Winter is a British professional surfer and avid coasteerer. The highlight of his career so far has been gaining a place on the ASP World Championship Tour.
Michael Eugene Fanning is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark attack with what is suspected to be a great white shark during the J-Bay Open finals in Jeffreys Bay.
Claire Bevilacqua is a professional surfer from Perth, Western Australia. She joined the World Championship Tour in 2004. She has won many competitions including the 2009 Pipeline Pro Hawaii.
Jordan Michael "Jordy" Smith is a South African professional surfer, competing on the World championship tour surfing (WCT). In 2007 Smith won surfing's World Qualifying Series, the second-tier tour which leads to qualification for the World championship tour (WCT) surfing.
Dane Reynolds is an American professional surfer from Ventura, California. He is known for his "go for broke" style of surfing that includes many experimental and aerial maneuvers.
Christiaan "Otter" Bailey, is an American professional surfer, known for his experience as a surf safari guide and skill as a big wave surfer and skateboarder.
Sally Anne Fitzgibbons is an Australian professional surfer on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour (2009–2013). In June 2019, she was ranked No. 1 in the world for women's surfing after winning the Rio Pro.
Coco Malia Camille Hapaikekoa Ho is a professional Hawaiian surfer born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She began surfing at 7 years old, following in the footsteps of her family.
Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira is a Brazilian professional surfer who won the 2014, 2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships. Medina joined the world's elite of the World Surf League Tour in 2011, and in his rookie year he finished within the top 12 of the ASP World Tour at the age of 17. In March 2014 he won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. Media sources credit him as being the second person to have executed a maneuver called the "Backflip". Medina also became the first person ever to land this move in competition.
Nikki van Dijk is an Australian professional surfer. She has been a touring competitor in the World Surf League, the top flight of international professional surfing.
Filipe Toledo is a Brazilian professional surfer who has competes on the World Surf League Men's World Tour since 2013.
Johanne Defay is a French professional surfer. She was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Auvergne, France. She began surfing at the age of 8 off the beaches of Reunion Island, which is her home today. After Johanne's first competition when she was only ten years old, she quickly moved through the European amateur ranks to eventually take on the WSL World Qualifying Series. In 2008 Defay almost gave up competing. She was finding it difficult to transition from the juniors to the WQS and then the economy crashed causing many surf companies cancel their sponsorships. At that time, Johanne found herself without sponsors and also without decent results. However, with her parents’ encouragement, Johanne was able to qualify for the World Championship Tour within two years.
Sean Holmes was a professional surfer from South Africa, competing in the World Surf League (WSL). In 2000 Holmes won Red Bull's Big Wave Africa,. He won the event for a massive wave caught in the dying seconds of the final that he rode through to the channel and got tubed on.
Damien Hardman, known as The Iceman, is a former Australian surfer from Sydney. He won the Rip Curl Pro twice in 1988 and 1993, and was runner-up three times in 1989, 1991 and 1997, and in 1987/88 and 1991 he won the ASP World Tour. In 1999, he was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame in 1999.
Jadson André is a Brazilian professional surfer.