Gabriel Medina Finishes Runner-Up at Fiji Pro
Gabriel Medina delivered one of the standout performances of the 2026 Fiji Pro, posting the highest heat total of finals day and a perfect 10-point ride before finishing runner-up at Cloudbreak.
In our event preview of the Fiji Pro, we made the not-so-bold call that Gabriel Medina was the guy to beat. He’s won here twice, after all, and with a solid surf forecast on deck, we knew he’d be the most feared surfer in the draw. He proved us right.
Throughout the contest, he built momentum with bigger and bigger scores, peaking on finals day in the double overhead-plus surf. He beat Kauli Vaast with a 15.66 in the quarters and then found himself against fellow former Fiji champ Griffin Colapinto. Gabe combo’d the Californian with a 19.04 total, the best heat score of the day.
Then, unimaginably, he outdid himself with a 10-point ride in the final. Unfortunately, he failed to find a backup in time and fell short against Cole Houshmand’s two 8s. As the old saying goes, he didn’t lose, he just ran out of time!
The podium finish sees Gabe move to No. 4 on the world rankings, gaining momentum into Lower Trestles, another spot he’s won in the past. Let’s go, Gabe!
