Jack Robinson and Molly Picklum win the Tahiti Pro at Teahupoo, Mihimana Braye third

Kneeling on the sled, he raised his board in the air with his arms towards the blue sky before joining his two hands in a prayer and jumping off the jet ski to embrace his partner and young son in the water. A year after being beaten in the final of the Paris Olympics by Kauli Vaast, Jack Robinson got his revenge by winning the Tahiti Pro on Wednesday in Teahupoo, the 11th and final round of the regular season on the pro circuit.

The Australian, who had already won the Tahitian event two years ago, saw his mana return to him. Disturbingly, he experienced a sort of remake of the Games final. From the start, he scored two waves, two big tubes (9.50 and 7.40), before seeing the swell disappear for almost the entire rest of the series. His opponent in the final, Griffin Colapinto, was therefore powerless for a long time, even though he managed to land a bomb (8) and another tube that proved insufficient (5.67). With a total of 16.90 (compared to Colapinto's 13.67), Robinson could celebrate.

Having already triumphed at Bells Beach (Australia) in April, Robinson finished the season in 4th place, qualifying for the playoffs. He will be competing in Fiji at the end of the month to try to win the world title alongside Yago Dora, Jordy Smith, Griffin Colapinto and Italo Ferreira.

In the French camp, the spotlight was understandably on Kauli Vaast. The Olympic champion did not disappoint, but he was stopped in the quarterfinals. After devouring a still-sleepy Jordy Smith in the first heat of the day, the Olympic champion was narrowly eliminated in the quarterfinals by an unashamed and well-rated Crosby Colapinto (15.54 - 16.63).

But while we were waiting for Vaast, we mostly saw Mihimana Braye. The Tahitian, coached by Michel Bourez, had a flawless performance for a long time. In the round of 16, he notably took advantage of a big mistake by world number one Yago Dora, who forgot to start on the last wave of the series even though he had priority. The Brazilian left this offering to Braye, who added a 5.17 to his score to move up (10.77 - 7.33).

In the quarter-finals, Braye didn't falter and perfectly managed his heat against the American Cole Houshmand (14.93 - 11.50) thanks in particular to a huge tube (8.50). But at the gates of the final, he lost by... 0.06 points against Griffin Colapinto (14.77 - 14.83).

"I would have definitely signed for a third place before the competition, but I come here every time to win."

"I feel a bit disappointed and frustrated, I would have liked to go all the way," Braye told us just after his series. "The series was very competitive, I would actually like to see it again because I think that over two waves I could have had higher scores. I'm saying this in the heat of the moment, but maybe in hindsight I would have had a different analysis. It came down to nothing, it's the elite. In any case, it was a great fight. I would have definitely signed up for a 3rd place before the competition, but I come here every time to win."

Mihimana Braye had to bow out in the semi-finals by 0.06 points! (D. Michel/L'Équipe)

The third Frenchman in the running on Wednesday, Marco Mignot, played his match in the round of 16 against the eventual winner Jack Robinson, but he lost by less than a point (10.93 - 11.67). He finished the season in a fine 17th place in the world, a ranking that allowed him to win the honorary title of "Rookie of the Year".

In the women's competition, the logic was also in place with the deserved victory of Molly Picklum. The Australian in yellow lycra, who had eliminated Vahine Fierro in the quarterfinals with a tube of 9.77 (the best score of the competition), crushed the reigning world champion Caitlin Simmers in the final (17.26 - 4.94).

Picklum will be the hot favorite for the world title in Fiji, where she will face Hawaiians Gabriela Bryan and Bettylou Sakura Johnson, and Americans Caitlin Simmers and Caroline Marks.