Relive the Moment Stephanie Gilmore Became the Greatest Female Surfer of all Time | The Inertia
Stephanie Gilmore had her sights set on one thing at the WSL Finals: becoming the greatest female surfer of all time. Prior to finals day, Gilmore was tied with fellow Aussie surfer Layne Beachley at seven world titles. Heading into finals day, Gilmore was sitting at world number five and her prospects of winning that eighth title looked slim.
In her first heat, Gilmore was matched up against Brisa Hennessy, narrowly securing the points she needed in the last 40 seconds of the heat. Next, Gilmore faced off against Tatiana Weston-Webb, ultimately taking the win. After that, Gilmore took on Johanne Defay, defeating the French surfer 16.83 to 10.53. And just like that, Gilmore had surfed her way into the final where she would take on five-time world champ and Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore.
“Sitting in the water next to Carissa I was just admiring her strength and her humbleness,” Gilmore said in her post-heat interview. “She’s the best female surfer in my eyes so to sit there and battle it out for a world title against her was the greatest moment in my career.”
This feature is only available on The Inertia+
The Inertia+ offers exclusive access to original, premium features, reporting, films, members-only newsletters, discounted access to Inspire Courses, events, and special discounts from our partners.
*Billed annually. Join The Inertia+ for the price of an oat milk latte (or two bars of wax) a month.
Two heats later, the highly anticipated final ended in Gilmore’s favor. With the win, she surfed her way into the history books, becoming the winningest female in surfing history.
“I’ve won a lot of titles in different ways,” Gilmore said. “This was the best win I’ve had. To come all the way from fifth and grind it out all the way to the final — I knew it was possible and I could try and conserve some energy and make it work, but I’m against Brisa, Tati, Johanne, and Carissa. They’re all my favorite female surfers and they’re all incredible. I knew it would be tough but I’m stoked I had a shot at it and here we are. Anything’s possible.”
Related Posts
By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://oc3anclub.com/