Molly Picklum, World Champion at 22—How Fiji Turned Into Her Personal Playground
Imagine paddling out at Cloudbreak with everything on the line: a world title, your family watching from the channel, and the Pacific Ocean flexing double-overhead sets. That was Tuesday for Molly Picklum, and as captured by Nine’s cameras, she turned the pressure into poetry.
The young Aussie kept her cool after an early hiccup in the final—think rushed take-off, quick wipeout—and then stitched together two of the highest-scoring rides of the day. Her last wave, a freight-train left that doubled up on the inside, was pure textbook: late drop, rail buried, fins free, spit shooting everywhere. Judges slapped a 9.5 on it, the beach erupted, and just like that Molly became the youngest women’s world champion since Carissa Moore in 2011.
Back on land, celebrations were delightfully low-tech. Molly told ABC Sport Daily she partied in her wetsuit because she “couldn’t be bothered” getting changed. Steph Gilmore and Tyler Wright sent voice notes, Kelly Slater dropped a congratulatory DM, and someone handed her a bottle of tequila—only half of which survived the night.
For photographers lining the channel, the day delivered lens candy: golden-hour backlit barrels, Molly’s trademark rail turns, and the champagne-spray finish. If you captured any magic from this session, upload your shots to Surf Snaps with the tag #MollysMoment; we’re curating a community gallery of the best angles.
Bottom line: Cloudbreak is already legendary, but now it owns another chapter in surfing lore stamped with a rookie queen’s name.