It’s been a heavy couple days for Hawaiian hearts. On the North Shore, surfers dealt with the sudden death of Glen Jeans at Rocky Point and the near-death of Dusty Payne at Backdoor on Monday. And the very next day at Bombo Beach, Kiama, NSW, one of Oahu’s favorite sons, Finn McGill, won the marquee Men’s Final at the WSL Jeep World Junior Championship.

“Dusty is a surfer I’ve always looked up to, and I was so rattled to hear what happened to him yesterday,” McGill was quick to point out. “He’s been in my thoughts all day and was with me in every heat. I want to dedicate this win to him, and I’m just so stoked he’s okay. I can’t wait to get home and see him and know that he’s still with us.”

Officials ran a record 28 heats in bumpy, three to four-foot surf to tie off Finals Day, where McGill defeated Barron Mamiya, Joao Chianca and Joh Azuchi in their Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final, respectively, to win the greatest pre-pro show on the planet and add his name to an illustrious champions list that includes names like Joel Parkinson, Gabriel Medina, Andy Irons, Adriano de Souza and Jordy Smith.

In other words, the World Juniors is basically a rocket-propelled grenade to Championship Tour superstardom.

“I can barely talk right now, it hasn’t really sunk in just yet,” McGill continued. “After coming off an ankle injury I wasn’t expecting too much of a result at this event. I was never feeling in much of a rhythm and seemed to just be sneaking through heats. It all changed in my Quarterfinal, and all of a sudden I began to build and feel the flow. Then once I was in the Final, I knew I just had to wait for the good ones and surf them well.”

Other than the ankle injury, McGill also endured some flight mishaps en route to Oz, but he put all that behind him on the heels of impeccable backhand surfing to smoke Azuchi (the first Japanese surfer in a WSL World Junior Championship Final), posting an 8.00 and an 8.90 to combo his opponent right off the bat.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s Final, Vahine Fierro became Tahiti’s first WSL World Champion after beating longtime friend Summer Macedo with a commanding lead and a 12.83 heat total. The fact that Fierro got into the event as a Wildcard made her victory all the more surprising, but no less inspirational.

“This is such an amazing way to end my Junior career and kick off my 2018 season,” Fierro said. “This is the first time I’ve been to the World Junior Championship, and to win is so special, especially when I was so close to missing out on the event. Today was crazy, with a lot of heats; but after a few lay days, we were all so excited to surf, which made it easier. That was my third Final with Summer, which is so cool, we’re great friends. I’m really speechless at the moment, I just can’t believe it.”

Jeep World Junior Championship Men’s Final Results:

Heat 1: Finn McGill (HAW) 16.90 def. Joh Azuchi (JPN) 11.00

Jeep World Junior Championship Women’s Final Result

Heat 1: Vahine Fierro (PYF) 13.83 def. Summer Macedo (HAW) 6.36

Jeep World Junior Championship Men’s Semifinal Results:

Heat 1: Joh Azuchi (JPN) 11.50 def. Yuji Nishi (JPN) 5.00 (interference)

Heat 2: Finn McGill (HAW) 11.17 def. Joao Chianca (BRA) 11.00

Jeep World Junior Championship Women’s Semifinal Results:

Heat 1: Vahine Fierro (PYF) 11.67 def Taina Hinckel (BRA) 9.00

Heat 2: Summer Macedo (HAW) 9.17 def Minori Kawai (JPN) 7.53

Jeep World Junior Championship Men’s Quarterfinal Results:

Heat 1: Joh Azuchi (JPN) 10.17 def. Rio Waida (IDN) 6.56

Heat 2: Yuji Nishi (JPN) 9.67 def. Cody Young (HAW) 6.83 (interference)

Heat 3: Finn McGill (HAW) 16.03 def. Barron Mamiya 8.46

Heat 4: Joao Chianca (BRA) 13.54 def. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 13.07

Jeep World Junior Championship Women’s Quarterfinal Results:

Heat 1: Vahine Fierro (PYF) 12:00 def. Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 8.10

Heat 2: Taina Hinckel (BRA) 9.93 def. Macy Callaghan (AUS) 9.30

Heat 3: Minori Kawai (JPN) 12.00 def. Zahli Kelly (AUS) 8.83

Heat 4: Summer Macedo (HAW) 13.74 def. Zoe McDougall (HAW) 9.33