Ítalo Ferreira da Costa (born 6 May 1994) is a Brazilian professional surfer hailing from a small community of Baía Formosa, in Rio Grande do Norte on the northeastern coast of Brazil.[1]
Early life
Ferreira learned to surf on a three-foot-long lid of a coolbox his father used to transport fish to sell to restaurants in Baia Formosa.[2] He quickly progressed to a real board and at 12 years of age, his talent was noticed and then nurtured by fellow surfer Jadson Andre and the legendary Brazilian surf coach, Luiz 'Pinga' Campos, who was then marketing director of one of the world's leading surf brands.[1][2]
Career
Soon after, Ítalo won two rounds of the Junior World Championship in 2011 (finishing runner-up in the category overall), won the Brazilian Championship and in 2014, he finally qualified for the World Championship Tour.[1]
Ferreira first gained notoriety on the Championship Tour during his 2015 rookie season. During his breakout year, he made the semifinals in Rio and the quarterfinals in Fiji, Tahiti, and France before making his first CT Final in Portugal. Italo won the Rookie of the Year award after finishing his year 7th in the rankings.[2] However, his rookie season was followed by a few inconsistent seasons.[2] He had bright spots in 2016 with semifinal appearances at Bells and Margaret River but was stopped in round five seven times, finishing the year 15th in the rankings.[2] He looked on track to rebound in 2017 after a strong fifth-place finish at Snapper, but two days after the event, he tore ligaments in his ankle, and he missed the next three stops. Eventually, he finished 22nd in the rankings.[2] He bounced back almost immediately in 2018, with event wins at Bells, Keramas, and Supertubos, finishing the season 4th in the rankings.[2] In 2019, Ítalo started by winning the first tour stop of the year on the Australian Gold Coast. Later, he also won the inaugural Red Bull Airborne event. He would continue the season with a victory at MEO Pro Portugal and final runner-up finishes at the J-Bay Open and Quicksilver Pro France. The final event of the year was at the Pipe Masters, where Ítalo contested the title with his compatriot Gabriel Medina in the finals, eventually winning the event, and becoming World Surfing Champion for the first time in his career[1]
On July, 27th, 2021, Ferreira won the first men's Olympic surfing gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.[3] On 4 August 2023, Ferreira became the first Brazilian born surfer to be inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame.[4][5]
Italo started the 2021 season as the reigning world champion, due to the 2020 season being paused due to COVID-19, he was a semi-finalist in the first stage of the year at Pipeline and won the second stage of the year, the Rip Curl Newcastle Cup in Australia. He finished the regular season in second place, securing a spot in the WSL Finals 2021. In Match 3 he was defeated by compatriot Filipe Toledo and finished the season in 3rd place.[6]
In the 2022 season, his best results were 3 semifinals. He finished the regular season in 4th place, securing a spot in the WSL Finals again. He had a great campaign, winning the first 3 matches and reaching the title match. He faced Toledo for the second year in a row. Italo lost the first 2 Rounds and finished the season as world runner-up.[7]
In the 2023 season, Ítalo started the season poorly, achieving enough results to escape the mid-season cut. In the sixth stage, at the Surf Ranch Pro Ítalo made his only final of the season, losing to Griffin Colapinto in a very controversial title match. He finished the season in 13th place, his worst season since 2017.
In the 2024 season, Ítalo started slowly again, passing the mid-season cut. In the sixth stage of the year, Ítalo won his first stop since 2021. He won the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro against John John Florence for the first time in his career. He also won the VIVO Rio Pro for the first time, beating Yago Dora in the final. He finished the regular season in 5th place, going to the WSL Finals for the third time. He had another great campaign, winning 3 matches and reaching the title match against John John. In the final he lost two rounds and ended the season for the second time in his career as world runner-up.[8]
Italo started the 2025 season very well, making the semi-finals at Pipe and winning the first event in the history of the WSL in the Middle East, the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro in the United Arab Emirates wave pool, beating Rio Waida in the final.[9]
Career Victories
| WCT Wins | |||
| Year | Event | Venue | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Surf Abu Dhabi Pro | Hudayriat Island, Abu Dhabi |  United Arab Emirates
|
| 2024 | VIVO Rio Pro | Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro |  Brazil
|
| 2024 | SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro | Teahupo'o, Tahiti |  French Polynesia
|
| 2021 | Rip Curl Newcastle Cup presented by Corona | Newcastle, NSW |  Australia
|
| 2019 | Billabong Pipe Masters | Banzai Pipeline, Oahu |  Hawaii
|
| 2019 | MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal | Supertubos, Peniche |  Portugal
|
| 2019 | Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast | Gold Coast, Queensland | Australia
|
| 2018 | MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal | Supertubos, Peniche | Portugal
|
| 2018 | Corona Bali Protected | Keramas Beach, Bali |  Indonesia
|
| 2018 | Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach | Bells Beach, Victoria | Australia
|
| Juniors Wins | |||
| Year | Event | Venue | Country |
| 2011 | Quiksilver Pro Junior | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil
|
| 2011 | Mormaii Pro Junior | Garopaba | Brazil
|
| Special Events | |||
| Year | Event | Venue | Country |
| 2019 | Red Bull Airborne Gold Coast | Gold Coast, Queensland | Australia
|
WSL World Championship Tour
References
- ^ a b c d "Italo Ferreira". Red Bull. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Italo Ferreira Surfer Bio - Men's Championship Tour Event Results". World Surf League. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ John, Branch (27 July 2021). "Carissa Moore and Italo Ferreira Win the First Olympic Gold Medals in Surfing". New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "Decorated trio enters Surfers' Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach". Daily Pilot. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ Eckardt, Jade (4 August 2023). "Surfers' Hall Of Fame 2023 Induction Ceremony". Surfer. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "Rip Curl WSL Finals 2021". World Surf League. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "Rip Curl WSL Finals 2022". World Surf League. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "Lexus WSL Finals 2024". World Surf League. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "Caity Simmers and Italo Ferreira Win Inaugural Surf Abu Dhabi Pro". World Surf League. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "WSL to Complete Canceled Margaret River Event at Uluwatu". Surfer.com. 10 May 2018.
External links
- Italo Ferreira at the World Surf League
- Italo Ferreira at Olympics.com
- Ítalo Ferreira at Olympedia
- Italo Ferreira at the Comitê Olímpico do Brasil (in Portuguese)
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