Babies, bombs and world titles: Inside Australia’s greatest day at Teahupo’o

With his 18-month son Zen and wife sitting on a board 50 metres away from one of the heaviest waves in the world, Jack Robinson kept his world title hopes alive with an incredible run of clutch Teahupo’o surfing.

With her great mate and leading rival wearing 10-foot bombs of white-water on her head at “the place of skulls” (Teahupo’o’s loose translation from the local Polynesian dialect), Molly Picklum dominated like few women ever have in Tahiti.

So it went on arguably Australian surfing’s greatest day at the feared break. Only once before have an Australian man and woman claimed the Tahiti Pro together – mostly because from 2007 to 2021 it was deemed too dangerous for the girls to surf.

Picklum joins compatriots Kate Skarratt (1999), her idol Layne Beachley (2001), Chelsea Hedges (2005) and Melanie Redman-Carr (2006) as Australia’s female winners in Tahiti, with Skarratt the only one to prevail alongside a male Aussie – Mark Occhilupo, when he was also en route to a breakthrough world title. Picklum’s first is now hers to lose in a few weeks’ time in Fiji.

Only Robinson’s fairytale run to his second Tahiti Pro triumph could steal his fellow Olympian’s thunder. But steal it he did, having started the event knowing only victory and nothing less was needed to qualify for this year’s final five cut-off.

True to form – he has named his kid Zen, after all – Robinson was remarkably composed navigating the 10-foot barrelling Teahupo’o brutes he knows so well, winning four heats on Thursday (AEST) with his season on the line.

A scorching 9.5 ride to start the final against American Griffin Colapinto ensured Robinson only needed two waves to claim victory, repeating the same remarkable run that delivered his 2023 Tahiti Pro win with a finals berth on the line then as well.

With him all the way was Brazilian wife Julia, who sat in the safety of the Teahupo’o channel for each of Robinson’s heats before Zen was thrown into the water as well after the West Australian’s final victory.

“That was so special, to share that type of performance with them,” Robinson said. “This was Zen’s first time at Teahupo’o, to have him sitting in the channel, that’s just surreal isn’t it?

“Worrying about the situation with the finals and my season, it doesn’t help me compete, I just try and bring myself back to where I am at the moment, Tahiti’s such a special place and I’ve got a fair bit of experience out here.

“To have my family with me today so I’d be looking around thinking, ‘I have enough already, I’m blessed already’.”

If Robinson was clutch with his Teahupo’o whispering, Picklum was nothing but clinical. She effectively surfed her final against reigning world champion Caity Simmers as a free hit, because her qualification last week locked her into the No.1 seeding for the August 27 finals at Cloudbreak, Fiji.

Under the WSL’s recently tweaked one-day, winner-takes-all finals format, Picklum can claim the title in her next 40-minute heat.

She and Simmers are the future of women’s surfing, right here, right now, and revelling in a generational rivalry and great friendship.

When Teahupo’o went quiet briefly earlier this week, the pair went whale watching and island hopping together.

Come final time, Picklum surfed the fearsome break superbly, with multiple eight-point rides Simmers gamely tried to match. The 19-year-old, 157-centimetre Californian wore some of the heaviest waves of the day for her troubles.

“I was paddling straight up to her asking, ‘Are you all right? That was psycho’. That was such a heavy beat-down for her,” Picklum said.

“She was smashed, but she’s so gutsy, she kept coming. She always does, I was just stoked no more waves came her way, job done for me… It’s weird to think of being clinical at a place like Teahupo’o, but things just kept getting better and better for me in the event and I’m so happy with how I’m surfing at the moment.”

As two of the world’s best on tour at surfing heaving waves of consequence, Picklum and Robinson would be among the favourites for any event held at Cloudbreak - a fast-breaking left-hand barrel over shallow reef that can churn out five and six metre monsters.

Robinson will go into Fiji as a dark horse after finishing the regular season in fourth place while Picklum has been the most consistent woman on water all year.

“I’ll keep working on my mindset because I do have a bit of time to think about that and how close that [world title] win could be,” she said.

“I think I’ve been so eager to win and so competitive before in my career that it could be a weakness. Now I embrace that and use it as a strength. I understand that’s how I am and I want to achieve things. So now it’s just a case of, ‘Righto, let’s go do it.’