Stephanie Gilmore, the eight-time World Surf League (WSL) champion, returned to winning ways on Monday, claiming victory at the Gold Coast Pro in front of a massive crowd at Snapper Rocks. The 38-year-old Australian, who took a two-year hiatus from competitive surfing before returning this season, defeated rising Brazilian star Luana Silva in the final.
Gilmore's win came after early-season exits at Bells Beach and Margaret River, where she lost to younger surfers Luana Silva and Erin Brooks respectively. Questions had been raised about whether the greatest female surfer of all time could still compete with the new generation, but her performance on Monday silenced critics.
Leading the final with eight minutes remaining, Gilmore scored a 9.5 for a series of powerful turns and a lay-back manoeuvre, securing her seventh Gold Coast title and 34th WSL event win, the most for any woman in surfing history. She was mobbed in the water by fans after the victory.
“I really didn’t think I was going to win a comp this year,” Gilmore said. “I’m trying to be positive, but I was also like – the girls are just at a whole new level. It’s epic, this is what I wanted, I wanted to push myself, I wanted to feel that feeling, like – can I do it?”
Gilmore’s win places her seventh in the world rankings, and the tour now moves to Raglan, New Zealand. Comparisons have been drawn with Kelly Slater, who won an event at age 50, but Gilmore’s record stands on its own. She has previously stated she would not return to surfing just to make up the numbers, and her Gold Coast victory suggests she remains a formidable competitor.
