Blue-and-White Takeover in Galicia
Picture wind-whipped three-meter faces, sideways rain, and two Israelis grinning ear-to-ear on the podium—that’s exactly what went down at the Pantin Pro, a marquee stop on the World Surfing Championship Tour. Anat Lelior floated in first, Ido Hajaj followed a hair’s breadth behind, and together they delivered the best collective day Israeli surfing has ever seen.
Lelior’s Victory Lap—Literally
Within five minutes of the women’s final horn, Lelior had already stacked two keeper scores. With fifteen on the clock she drove a forehand combo that judges couldn’t ignore: 7.5 points, champagne-surfer style. The moment the hooter sounded, teammates hoisted her onto their shoulders and marched straight to the awards stage—never letting her fins touch sand. It’s her second European Tour win and, per Israel Surfing Association stats, the highest women’s result ever for the country.
Hajaj’s Heartbreaker
The men’s final was pure theater. Hajaj opened with 6.77, tacked on a 6.17, and held the lead until the dying minutes. Then Portuguese charger Vasco Ribeiro flipped the script with a late bomb. Hajaj needed a 5.43 to steal it back; he went for broke on one last set, stuck the rotation, and watched the scoreboard hold its breath. Judges deliberated for five long minutes—eternity on live stream—before flashing a 5.2. Cue groans from Tel Aviv to Tiberias. Still, second place equals Israel’s best men’s finish on tour, so the kid’s stock just went IPO.
Moral of the story: next time you’re stuck debating whether to paddle out in junk conditions, remember Anat and Ido just turned Atlantic slop into national glory. Not bad motivation for that dawn patrol, eh?