{"id":22836,"date":"2011-04-22T23:01:43","date_gmt":"2011-04-23T06:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=22836"},"modified":"2011-04-23T09:05:59","modified_gmt":"2011-04-23T16:05:59","slug":"sally-fitzgibbons-finally-rings-the-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=22836","title":{"rendered":"Sally Fitzgibbons Finally Rings The Bell"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sally<\/a><\/p>\n

Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons<\/strong> was unstoppable today at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach<\/a><\/strong> as she racked up more 8.0 plus score waves in a day that many surfers get all season to win her first ASP Elite Tour event. Hawaii’s Carissa Moore<\/strong> charged through the final but was unable to match Fitzgibbon’s onslaught.<\/p>\n

Fitzgibbons was emotional on the podium. “It’s so overwhelming. This is amazing,” Sally said fighting back tears. “Thank you for everyone coming out and watching today. It’s been a long journey for a win. . . As a young kid I’ve seen everyone ring this bell. . . To win this event is definitely the pinnacle of my career.”<\/p>\n

Carissa Moore was smiling, and gracious in defeat. “I’m stoked to have made the final with Sally,” Moore said. “I wish i could have rung the big bell, but I had fun surfing today.”<\/p>\n

Follow the jump for full results and a word from the ASP.Sally Fitzgibbons Claims Rip Curl Women\u2019s Pro Bells Beach, Maiden Elite Event Win<\/p>\n

BELLS BEACH, Victoria\/Australia (Saturday, April 23, 2011) \u2013 Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 20, claimed her maiden ASP Women\u2019s World Title event win today after a hard-fought Final with current ASP Women\u2019s World No. 1 Carissa Moore (HAW), 18, taking out the Rip Curl Women\u2019s Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Fiesta and firmly announcing herself as a threat to the 2011 ASP World Title race.<\/p>\n

The second stop of the 2011 ASP Women\u2019s World Title season, the Rip Curl Women\u2019s Pro Bells Beach enjoyed some of the best conditions ever offered to the ASP Top 17, culminating in this afternoon\u2019s epic clash in glassy three-to-four foot (1.5 metre) waves at Rincon.<\/p>\n

Fitzgibbons, who finished Runner-Up in three events in 2010 as well as finishing the season in the Runner-Up spot, consistently outshined her fellow ASP Top 17 members at Bells Beach, launching into incredible high scores from the opening round of competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is so overwhelming,\u201d Fitzgibbons said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long journey for me to finally win and this is incredible. I can\u2019t feel my arms or legs and I\u2019m just trying to keep from crying right now. It\u2019s been a really long time coming and I want to thank all the girls for pushing me as well as all my family and friends who have supported me over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s maiden victory was made all the more emotional for the young Australian, clinching the title in the event\u2019s 50th year of operation, surrounded by her heroes and sporting icons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extra special to win it this year for the 50 years event,\u201d Fitzgibbons said. \u201cEver since I was a kid, I\u2019ve always watched my heroes surf and win here and I\u2019ve always dreamed of ringing the Bell and now that it\u2019s happened, I don\u2019t know what to say. The other night at the 50-year ball, I saw all my icons on stage and I was so inspired. So to win right now is a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzgibbons now sits at ASP Women\u2019s World No. 2 with today\u2019s win.<\/p>\n

Moore continued her rampage amongst the world\u2019s best here at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, only falling short to Fitzgibbons in the Final. The gracious Hawaiian remains firmly in the driver\u2019s seat in this year\u2019s hunt for the ASP Women\u2019s World Title, and will look to further cement her position at next week\u2019s event in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m stoked to have made the Final with Sally (Fitzgibbons),\u201d Moore said. \u201cFor her to come out on top was awesome. We\u2019ve have a lot of good clashes last year and this year, and her win\u2019s been a long time coming so congrats to her. Of course I would have liked to have rung the Bell, but that may have to happen next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 23, reigning four-time ASP Women\u2019s World Champion, enjoyed more of a return to form at Bells Beach, but the former three-time event winner was unable to overcome a rampaging Fitzgibbons in their Semifinal clash. Today\u2019s Equal 3rd place finish has Gilmore sitting in ASP Women\u2019s World No. 4 heading into the New Zealand event.<\/p>\n

“I felt really good this event, my surfing felt more confident,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI’m happy with my performance, but hopefully I’m just building towards No. 1. Sally (Fitzgibbons) was so in form, she was throwing away scores that I was keeping as my top two, she’s well deserving of the win.”<\/p>\n

Silvana Lima (BRA), 26, past event winner, put on a valiant effort in today\u2019s conditions but ultimately fell to eventual winner Moore in her Semifinal heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery happy with my performance at Bells and that we had good waves for the girls,\u201d Lima said. \u201cI\u2019m sad that I couldn\u2019t make the Final, but Carissa (Moore) was surfing really well and she deserves it. I\u2019m looking forward to New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next stop on the 2011 ASP Women\u2019s World Title season will be the Subaru Pro TSB Bank Women\u2019s Surf Festival in Taranaki, New Zealand from April 27 \u2013 May 1, 2011.<\/p>\n

Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by FORD will be available via www.live.ripcurl.com and broadcast live on Fuel TV in Australia and ESPN in Brazil.<\/p>\n

The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Ranger completed Round 4 of competition this morning with Joel Parkinson (AUS), 30, Kelly Slater (USA), 39, Jordy Smith (ZAF), 23, and Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, all taking out wins and advancing straight through to the Quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7am to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start.<\/p>\n

When the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Rangers resumes, up first will be Owen Wright (AUS), 21, against Bede Durbidge (AUS), 28, in the opening heat of Round 5.<\/p>\n

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n

RIP CURL WOMEN\u2019S PRO BELLS BEACH FINAL RESULTS:
\n1 \u2013 Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.77
\n2 \u2013 Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.40<\/p>\n

RIP CURL WOMEN\u2019S PRO BELLS BEACH SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
\nSF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.10 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 12.60
\nSF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.37 def Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.60<\/p>\n

RIP CURL WOMEN\u2019S PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
\nQF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 15.57 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.60
\nQF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.34 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 5.90
\nQF 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.00 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 11.44
\nQF 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.56 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 14.53<\/p>\n

RIP CURL WOMEN\u2019S PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 4 RESULTS:
\nHeat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 14.50 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 8.50
\nHeat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 12.50 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 12.04
\nHeat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) 13.60 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 12.47
\nHeat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.83 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 11.50<\/p>\n

ASP WOMEN\u2019S WORLD TITLE TOP 5 (After Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach):
\n1. Carissa Moore (HAW) 18,000 pts
\n2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16,400 pts
\n3. Tyler Wright (AUS) 13,200 pts
\n4. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11,700 pts
\n5. Silvana Lima (BRA) 11,700 pts<\/p>\n

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 4 RESULTS:
\nHeat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.26, Owen Wright (AUS) 13.84, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.14
\nHeat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.67, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.17, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.04
\nHeat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.27, Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.37, Tiago Pires (PRT) 11.63
\nHeat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 19.10, Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.17, Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.40<\/p>\n

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 5 MATCH-UPS:
\nHeat 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
\nHeat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
\nHeat 3: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
\nHeat 4: Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons was unstoppable today at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach as she racked up more 8.0 plus score waves in a day that many surfers get all season to win her first ASP Elite Tour event. Hawaii’s Carissa Moore charged through the final but was unable to match Fitzgibbon’s onslaught. Fitzgibbons was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22836"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22836"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22842,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22836\/revisions\/22842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}