- 2017-04-08
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SPORTS
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Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ World Surf League: Women's Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, Sally Fitzgibbons Wins
The final day of Women's Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, after waiting for almost one week, the Semifinals and the Final ran in three-to-five foot conditions at Main Break in Western Australia.
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) claimed the first victory of this season and defeated current World Champion Tyler Wright (AUS) with 14.90.
This marks her eighth victory on Championship Tour. After this result, she moved up to top of World Championship tour ranking. She tied for No. 1 with Stephanie Gilmore (AUS).
She took down 6-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore on the Semifinals. Stephanie Gilmore struggled to catch waves and made some mistakes during her ride.
While, Sally Fitzgibbons caught constantly waves and earned with a total of 11.43, she advanced to the Final.
On Heat 1 of the Semifinals, the defending event winner Tyler Wright (AUS) eliminated Sage Erickson (USA) with 16.00. She competed against Sally Fitzgibbons in the Final.
Sally Fitzgibbons earned 7.88 on her first ride, followed by, she got 6.33 and 7.07. But Tyler Wright could not receive high score than Sally Fitzgibbons.
Finally, Sally Fitzgibbons took the victory since the 2015 Fiji Women's Pro.
After the Final, Sally Fitzgibbons said;
“I’m so over the moon to be holding this trophy. When I heard my name being called out as the champion, I really felt a sense of belonging and calm. It’s been an amazing couple of weeks here in the West and to finish it off with a win is the best feeling. I love coming to Margaret River. I feel like it’s a place that I am super comfortable and familiar with, so it’s a special event win for me. The town of Gerroa is so small and it was well represented today in the final with Tyler [Wright] and myself, which is really cool. Holding equal first on the rankings is a special feeling for me. It’s a long year, so I just need to keep focused and keep to my goals and hopefully hold on to the top spot.”
After the Final, Tyler Wright said;
“I was actually pretty happy with the way I ran the heat. Just the waves, I thought, were a little bit trickier towards the end there and I just didn’t get a clean line, but I am stoked for Sally [Fitzgibbons] to come away with the win. I’ve known Sally since I was 9-years-old, we live in the same town now, and we are both from the South Coast. I am stoked that both of us were in the Final.”
Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Women’s Final Results:
F 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 141.90 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.53
Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Women’s Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 16.00 def. Sage Erickson (USA) 12.77
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 11.43 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 10.93
All photos copyright by World Surf League.- source : World Surf League
