California competitor wins WSL Championship Tour Stop No. 2

(FOX 5/KUSI) – Santa Barbara competitor Lakey Peterson won her seventh World Surf League Championship Tour event on Saturday at the Australia Margaret River Pro, stop No. 2 of the 2026 Tour.

Admittedly being intimidated by the line up at Main Break in the early years of her career, Peterson has come to love the Tour stop as one of her top-performing events.

On her road to the Final, Peterson eliminated Canadian competitor Erin Brooks and San Clemente residents Caroline Marks and Sawyer Lindblad.

After defeating Lindblad, the 2024 event runner-up, in the semifinals, Peterson faced Brazil’s Luana Silva.

Close to the five-minute mark of the Finals, Silva took the lead by earning the highest single-wave score of the heat, a 6.83. Needing a 6.01 to win, Peterson earned a 6.40 on her final wave.

“I can’t believe it, really. It just kind of happened this week, it all fell into place. When the ocean’s working with you, it’s a nice thing,” Peterson said. “I work really hard, we all do, it’s just nice when it pays off. I’ve been doing this a really long time, and it’s cool to prove to myself, like, I can still do this. I can still win these events.”

Notably, “The Pride of Oceanside” Caitlin Simmers advanced to the Semifinals over 5x World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Carissa Moore, but Simmers fell short to Silva in the Semifinals.

On the men’s side of competition, no California competitors advanced to Finals Day.

Australian Competitor George Pittar earned his maiden win at the elite level. On his road to victory, he took down every men’s World Champion currently on Tour.

The Finals were contested on the last day of the 11-day window. The conditions were clean, three-to-four foot waves, after a week of stormy, onshore conditions.

Stop No. 3 of the Tour is at Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia. The waiting period begins on May 2.

In the meantime, World Surf League Qualifying Series surfers are competing for the opportunity to surf with the world’s elite in the Championship Tour.

The Jack’s Surfboards Pro, a Qualifying Series 4,000 event, Finals Day is underway in Huntington Beach. Several California competitors have made it to Finals Day.

Watch World Surf League events live and learn more at WorldSurfLeague.com

Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Final Results

1. George Pittar (AUS) 15.17

2. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.46

Western Australia Margaret River Pro Women’s Final Results

1. Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.23

2. Luana Silva (BRA) 11.83

Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Semifinal Results

HEAT 1: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.77 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 13.34

HEAT 2: George Pittar (AUS) 13.16 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.16

Western Australia Margaret River Pro Women’s Semifinal Results

HEAT 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.50 DEF. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 9.50