{"id":47196,"date":"2014-11-27T15:21:32","date_gmt":"2014-11-27T23:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=47196"},"modified":"2014-12-01T19:32:35","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T03:32:35","slug":"stephanie-gilmore-wins-6th-world-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=47196","title":{"rendered":"Stephanie Gilmore Wins 6th World Title"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

After her loss in the quarter finals of the Target Maui Pro<\/strong> all five-time ASP women’s world champion Stefanie Gilmore<\/strong> could do was wait and see what happened to title contenders Sally Fitzgibbons<\/strong> and Tyler Wright<\/strong>. Fitzgibbons was knocked out by Bianca Buitendag<\/strong> in the very next heat, leaving Gilmore waiting until the final between Carissa Moore<\/strong> and Tyler Wright<\/strong> was decided before knowing if she could celebrate or start planning for next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was probably the most emotional I\u2019ve ever been watching someone else surf in my life,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI know how focused Tyler (Wright) is and I was completely prepared for a surf-off. However, I also knew how incredibly capable Carissa (Moore) is at virtually every venue. I feel like I had a year\u2019s worth of emotions packed into one heat. I won my first title here at Honolua Bay, but after my loss in the Quarterfinals, I was prepared for anything to happen. I\u2019m really emotional right now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gilmore’s title was saved when Carissa Moore became victorious over Tyler Wright. For the official word from the ASP, please follow the jump.<\/p>\n

&nbsp;HONOLUA BAY, Maui\/Hawaii (Thursday, November 27) – Australian Stephanie Gilmore, 26, has claimed her 6th world surfing crown today, besting an international field of world-class athletes on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Women\u2019s World Championship Tour.<\/p>\n

Gilmore opened up this year\u2019s season with an emphatic win at home on the Gold Coast, reestablishing herself as a threat to the title following years of pressure applied by a new generation of talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t win an event last year and I think that was a bit of a wakeup call for me,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI came into this season with the goal to surf better and I think the improvement in wave quality on the women\u2019s tour was very motivating for me. To open up with a win at home on the Gold Coast and, maybe more importantly, feeling like I was surfing at a level I was pleased with, was really important in setting the tone for my year.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Gilmore started the season strong, it was opponents Carissa Moore (HAW) and Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) who quickly surged to the front with back-to-back wins at Margaret River\/Bells Beach and Rio de Janeiro\/Fiji respectively. Compatriot Tyler Wright (AUS) would throw herself into the race with wins at Huntington Beach and France, but September saw Gilmore strike back with a major win at Lower Trestles before consolidating with another victory in Portugal and taking the ratings\u2019 lead heading into Hawaii.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been one of the most exciting title races in the sport\u2019s history,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cAll the girls at the top were really close and it came down to the last event. I fell back a little bit in the ratings through the midway point in the season, but I was still getting results and always felt like I was in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heading into the final event of the year, the Target Maui Pro, the world\u2019s best surfers returned to the idyllic pointbreak of Honolua Bay – a venue that Gilmore dominated when it was previously on the schedule, posting victories in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Despite an in-form campaign at this season\u2019s event, Gilmore fell in the Quarterfinals to Californian Courtney Conlogue (USA), leaving to the door open to remaining contenders Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) and Tyler Wright (AUS).<\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t really find the positioning in that heat,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI looked at the draw for the Quarterfinals and I was thinking to myself what a tough competitor Courtney (Conlogue) is to draw here. That\u2019s what happens when you change the seedings around and get the yellow jersey, it mixes things up. It was tough and I\u2019m super disappointed. I really didn\u2019t put on a performance that was World Title worthy but that\u2019s the way it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI paddled off after that heat and there were some tears and some emotions,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI took a few breaths – it was a long year and I have to think about everything that\u2019s happened along the way – the good results and the bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately following Gilmore\u2019s elimination, Fitzgibbons was ousted from the event by Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), dashing her hopes for a maiden world surfing crown and leaving only Wright remaining in the hunt against Gilmore.<\/p>\n

Wright, needing to win the event to send the title race to a three-heat surf-off, proceeded to smash her Quarterfinals and Semifinals heats before meeting Moore in the Final. The two form surfers went blow-for-blow in the Final match, but it was Moore who nailed the coffin shut on her final ride with a 9.73 (out of a possible 10), taking the Target Maui Pro win and handing Gilmore her 6th ASP Women\u2019s World Title.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was probably the most emotional I\u2019ve ever been watching someone else surf in my life,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI know how focused Tyler (Wright) is and I was completely prepared for a surf-off. However, I also knew how incredibly capable Carissa (Moore) is at virtually every venue. I feel like I had a year\u2019s worth of emotions packed into one heat. I won my first title here at Honolua Bay, but after my loss in the Quarterfinals, I was prepared for anything to happen. I\u2019m really emotional right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s title clinching puts Gilmore one behind the all-time women\u2019s record-holder of Layne Beachley (AUS) with 7 and third behind all-time men\u2019s and women\u2019s record-holder Kelly Slater (USA) with 11.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe caliber of surfing on tour this season is the highest it has ever been,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cThere are no easy heats. This was the hardest title I\u2019ve ever won. The talent level is only going to increase in future years but I\u2019m so pleased I\u2019ve won and want to thank everyone who has supported me this year – my family, my friends and my sponsors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilmore\u2019s 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP WCT Results:
\nRoxy Pro Gold Coast: WINNER
\nDrug Aware Margaret River Pro: 3rd
\nRip Curl Women\u2019s Pro Bells Beach: 3rd
\nRio Women\u2019s Pro: 13th
\nFiji Women\u2019s Pro: 2nd
\nVans US Open of Surfing: 2nd
\nSwatch Women\u2019s Pro Trestles: WINNER
\nRoxy Pro France: 5th
\nCascais Women\u2019s Pro: WINNER
\nTarget Maui Pro: 5th<\/p>\n

For more information, check out aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n

Target Maui Pro Final Results:
\n1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 18.23
\n2 – Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.03<\/p>\n

Target Maui Pro Semifinal Results:
\nSemifinal 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.67 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 11.93
\nSemifinal 2: Tyler Wright (AUS) 17.76 def. Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 9.74<\/p>\n

Target Maui Pro Quarterfinal Results:
\nQuarterfinal 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 12.20 def. Johanne Defay (FRA) 9.50
\nQuarterfinal 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.67 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.03
\nQuarterfinal 3: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 15.97 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.33
\nQuarterfinal 4: Tyler Wright (AUS) 17.03 def. Lakey Peterson (USA) 16.30<\/p>\n

The final stop on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour will be the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons, featuring the men\u2019s world title race between Gabriel Medina (BRA), Mick Fanning (AUS) and Kelly Slater (USA), from December 8 – 20, 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After her loss in the quarter finals of the Target Maui Pro all five-time ASP women’s world champion Stefanie Gilmore could do was wait and see what happened to title contenders Sally Fitzgibbons and Tyler Wright. Fitzgibbons was knocked out by Bianca Buitendag in the very next heat, leaving Gilmore waiting until the final between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47196"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47207,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47196\/revisions\/47207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}