Lindblad Breaks Through with 1st Championship Tour Win in Brazil | SC Surf
San Clemente’s Sawyer Lindblad just transformed a breakout tour season into a legitimate world title campaign. Lindblad earned the first Championship Tour victory of her career on Friday, June 26, at the VIVO Rio Pro in Saquarema, Brazil, defeating 15-year-old French rookie Tya Zebrowski in the final to claim the biggest prize of her career.
The victory comes after a string of near-misses for Lindblad: runner-up finishes in Brazil and Margaret River in 2024 and another second-place finish earlier this season in New Zealand. This time, however, she finished the job in her fourth CT Final.
A jubilant Sawyer Lindblad exults after winning her first-ever CT event as she was being carried up the beach. Photo: Courtesy of Sawyer Lindblad on Instagram
“I feel amazing,” Lindblad said after the victory. “I’m really emotional right now after I’ve worked so hard for this, and I feel like I’ve gotten so many seconds. I’m just really happy it was my day.”
In difficult conditions, Lindblad found the better waves early, building a 7.67 two-wave total while Zebrowski managed a 6.10. The 15-year-old Tahitian-born rookie had opportunities late in the heat but was unable to capitalize as Lindblad held on for the win.
The victory capped an impressive Finals Day for the San Clementean. Lindblad dispatched Brazil’s Luana Silva in the quarterfinals before defeating fellow San Clemente surfer Caroline Marks, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and 2023 World Champion, in the semifinals. After a lay day delayed competition, Lindblad returned to competition composed to secure her maiden Championship Tour victory.
“I want to thank my sponsors who have been with me since such a young age,” Lindblad said. “My parents, who are my biggest supporters, and my dad for coming down here with me. I want to thank the crowd for coming down every day, in the rain today; it’s been so incredible.”
Brazil has become a defining destination in Lindblad’s young career. She first qualified for the Championship Tour there, reached her first CT Final at Saquarema in 2024 and has now captured her first CT victory at the same venue.
“I’ve had some really special moments here in Brazil,” she said. “I qualified for the Tour here, made my first Final here, and now won my first CT here, so it’ll always hold a special place for me. There are some really exciting stops coming up, so I’m just really excited now.”
The result continues what has quickly become one of the strongest seasons on tour. Through six events, Lindblad has recorded one victory, two runner-up finishes and two semifinal appearances, elevating herself into the conversation alongside established stars Marks, Caity Simmers and Molly Picklum.
Perhaps even more impressive is the speed of Lindblad’s rise. Just one season ago, she narrowly missed the Championship Tour’s mid-season cut. Now, the 2024 Rookie of the Year sits fourth in the world rankings with six events remaining and has firmly entered the world title conversation.
The Championship Tour now takes a six-week break before resuming on Aug. 8 at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, beginning a demanding stretch of heavy reef breaks in places such as Tahiti, Fiji and Oahu before returning to Lower Trestles later this season. Those events are expected to play a major role in determining this year’s World Champion, with Pipeline carrying an increased points value.
For local surf fans, Lindblad’s breakthrough adds another chapter to San Clemente’s Championship Tour legacy. With multiple world champions and CT competitors calling the city home, another hometown surfer is now in the running for surfing’s ultimate competitive prize.
If Lindblad can carry this confidence through the season’s final stretch, her first CT victory may prove to be only the beginning.
Ella Boyd is a writer and photographer who covers surfing for Picket Fence Media’s publications. Her work appears in The Surftime Journal, Powder, Surfer, Daybreak Magazine, The Inertia, Yuth Magazine and Pacific Longboarder. In 2023, she was a finalist for the Follow the Light Surf Photography Grant Program. She mostly logs, but rides a surf mat or kneeboard if the conditions call for it. You can find her work here: ella-boyd.com.