Before Italo Ferriera and Carissa Moore went on to the podum, finals day at the inaugural Corona Cero New Zealand Pro took a dramatic turn when competition was brought to a standstill after a WSL water photographer was attacked by an unidentified sea creature during the men’s semi-finals at Manu Bay, Raglan.
The incident, which occurred at 8:26am local time, triggered a code red — the WSL’s emergency protocol typically reserved for shark sightings — and sent shockwaves through the contest site and both Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira were picked up by jet skis for their safety.
The photographer, longtime WSL veteran, Ed Sloane, was bitten while shooting in the water and was transported to hospital by ambulance with minor puncture wounds. He later said, “Thank you to everyone for the well wishes after what’s happened, I’m doing okay. Massive thank you to our water patrol for the quick response.”
WSL Vice President of Tours and Competition Renato Hickel addressed the incident live on the broadcast, confirming the code red activation and noting the unusual nature of the situation. “It’s the first time we have activated the code red when it’s sea life attacking a surfing photographer,” Hickel said. This comes 11 years after Mick Fanning‘s attack at J-Bay and, thankfully, all ended well and competition resumed later in the day.
Reigning world champion Yago Dora was the standout of the week, posting the first perfect 10-point ride of the 2026 season in his quarterfinal against Cole Houshmand. With time running out and Houshmand sitting on a pair of 8.5s, Dora paddled into a wave and launched a massive full rotation before threading into a huge layback and stringing together a series of powerful turns down the line. The judges called it immediately — a perfect 10, locking in a 17.5 two-wave heat total.
Despite being on form all week, Yago couldn’t seal the deal against Italo who brought every bit of his arsenal of tricks to the long walls at Raglan. After their intense semi-final heat, there was just Morgan Cibilic for Italo to outmaneuver for his first victory of the season.
On the women’s side, five-time world champion Carissa Moore was equally dominant. Her semifinal against fellow Hawaiian Bettylou Sakura Johnson produced a 19.00 heat total — the highest of the entire 2026 season — including a sizzling 9.8 ride. Moore, 33, enters the final chasing her second CT win in New Zealand, having claimed victory in the country back in 2010. In regards to competing with her family on the beach, she said, “I’m living my dream!”
The New Zealand Pro is itself a historic milestone — the first WSL Championship Tour event ever held in New Zealand since the women’s tour visited Taranaki between 2010 and 2013, and the first men’s CT stop in the country’s history.
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