It was celebration time for Australian surfer Molly Picklum after she won the Rip Curl Pro title in Portugal. ( Getty Images: MB Media/Zed Jameson )
Australia's Molly Picklum has hit the front in the World Surf League standings after seizing the Rip Curl Pro title in Portugal.
Picklum beat American Caitlin Simmers in the final and now leads Carissa Moore on the overall standings.
There are two events left in the post-season – the Philippines Pro and Pipeline.
Molly Picklum has hit peak form riding the celebrated Supertubos waves to win the Rip Curl Pro Portugal event and move back to pole position to retain her world surfing title.
"Right now I'm on top of the world … literally!" roared the 23-year-old Australian after her victory over America's former world champion Caitlin Simmers in Friday's final sent her back to the top of the World Surf League standings.
Picklum's triumph at one of surfing's most famous venues gave her the maximum 10,000-point haul to ensure she overhauled Hawaiian Carissa Moore at the top.
The win came at the perfect post-season moment with just two events left.
The Gosford star has enjoyed a shiny nickname since she referred to herself as like "a glow worm in a cave" riding inside a deep barrel wave.
So she was quick to offer a shout-out to her friends and family at home, whom she knew would be watching her first triumph of the season in the early hours.
"I just want to say thank you to all of them. I know they stayed up for this one. The glow worm absolutely did it and I love you all so much!" Picklum said.
The Australian was given a triumphant ride on a jet ski after clinching the final win before she threw herself into the water to celebrate.
"I just love it when I get to win in front of them and actually do it for them," she said.
"So many people support me and put so much energy into me. I just love winning to give back to those ones that give to me.
"I wanted to do well here. It was a dream of mine for me. Supertubos, it's like a cross between the Brazil energy and then (Hawaiian) Pipeline and those two together are like my two favourite things.
"So, oh my God, I'm so so grateful to win here. It was literally a dream of mine, and dreams come true. It's so baffling."
Picklum was delighted to "kind of hit my stride right at the right time" as she now sits atop the leaderboard on 48,950 points to Moore's 47,065, with another Hawaiian, Gabriela Bryan, third on 44,865 with two events left, the Philippines Pro and Pipeline.
Picklum didn't have a great record against 2024 world champ Simmers, having lost six of their previous eight head-to-head contests, but she was in control of the final from the moment she delivered a superb 7.83-point effort on her third wave to build on her opening 5.50.
Simmers couldn't respond, offering Picklum's fans on the beach a belated scare when she managed a best of 6.67 on the ninth of her 11 rides, but the Australian, who only had a half-dozen rides, eventually triumphed with her combined two-wave score of 13.33 to the American's 12.84.
