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(Photo: WSL/ Beatriz Ryder))

STEPH GILMORE DARES TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE

Gilmore makes history with some of her best surfing ever.

Let’s be honest. In the banter leading up to Finals Day, legions of fans expressed their passionate desire to see Steph Gilmore claim her eighth world title, but also doubted she could actually do it. Surfing all the way through from the fifth seed position seemed like an impossible quest. Last year Steph had been in a similar situation and faltered at the first hurdle. Carissa had been seeded first and gone on to win. Gabriel had been seeded one and also gone on to win. It’s only year two of the WSL’s experimental, new finals system so there was no precedent for someone surfing all the way through from the back markers. It was just an exciting idea; a possibility that helped sell the fantasy of Finals Day. It was also the scenario that you either loved or hated. Steph herself was never a fan… until now.  

Gilmore has set benchmarks throughout her career and today she did it again in a big way. She became the first surfer (female or male) to prove that you can win from number five on finals day. Meanwhile, by claiming her eighth world title, she earned the right to be called the most successful competitor in women’s pro surfing history. And she did it with all the style, panache and pure grit that have become her trademarks.

(Photo: WSL/ Beatriz Ryder)

Curiously, earlier this year Steph had to fight to ensure she didn’t fall victim to another new feature of the WSL system, the mid-year cut. After missing Pipe with COVID and floundering at Sunset Steph plummeted into the cut-off conversation. She dug herself out of trouble with a third at Portugal and consecutive fifths at Bells and Margaret’s. The competitive high point of her year was a victory in the Surf City El Salvador Pro, a win that certainly helped her scrape into fifth position and qualify for the finals.    

Steph’s finals day begun with a gutsy win over Brisa Hennessey. The tension rippled across Steph Gilmore’s face as she paddled out while Brisa looked to be in a buoyant mood. There was a full-blown paddle battle for the opening wave and then Steph fell on two of her following rides. Meanwhile Brisa belted the lip like a boxer on the heavy bag and took control of the heat. With fifteen to go Brisa was enjoying the bliss of a combo lead. A ‘ severe combo’ of 14.33 according to Joe Turpel, in a rare harsh moment. Then with just over ten minutes on the clock, Steph finally made the rail sing Waltzing Matilda and landed the wave of the heat with a 7.93. “Brisa’s been poking the bear and she came out swatting,” quipped Rosie. Steph poached priority with just over a minute to go and snaffled what might have been one of the most important waves of her life. Three carves from the Gilmore handbook of speed, power and flow and somehow Steph had snatched victory against the momentum of the heat.

(Photo: WSL/ Pat Nolan)

Tatiana Weston-Webb loomed as Steph’s most ominous opponent en route to the final clash with Carissa. The ambitious Brazilian competitor was one turn a way from a title in last year’s finals and her lethal backhand is custom-built for attacking the Trestles rights. However, Tatiana did the early damage on one of the rare lefts that sat up invitingly. The turns lacked a little flow, but Tati laid it over on juicy sections and when the judges dropped an eight it seemed that perhaps Steph’s title hopes were going to be washed up on the Californian cobblestones.     

Once again Steph found herself way behind and was forced to summon her best surfing. The defining moment was a fully-committed nose-pick reverse. The ‘club sandwich’  turn had all the filling and sauce on top. It was one of the best, single moves of Steph’s competitive career. The thunderbolt turn allowed Steph to take command of the heat. Tatiana responded with trademark backhand gusto but couldn’t haul Steph in. Post-heat Steph didn’t disguise her game-plan.

“I have to be more progressive in my surfing. That’s a fact,” she told Laura Enever.

Gilmore turned it up to 11 with a cobblestone masterclass in her third match-up. Jo Defay didn’t know what hit her when Steph dropped an 8.83 and 8.00 on the day’s two best waves, leaving her in a combo situation for a good part of the heat. Rattled by Steph’s authority and her own wave selection, Defay never found an answer to squeeze past a rampaging Steph. And with that, Steph went from bottom of the Final 5 food chain to the top in a matter of hours.


By the time Steph and Carissa paddled out for the first, best-of-three heat, Trestles was wind-ripped and chattery. Steph Gilmore had been growing in confidence all day but could she peak for the finals against the most formidable of opponents?  The same woman who was hunting down Steph’s own record (it would have been number six for Carissa) of seven world titles. Or could Steph put a little daylight between herself and Carissa and make it eight?

Steph hustled for the inside early and whipped her way to an 8.33 with two XL top-turns. What a way to start a final. Like hitting a home run off the first pitch of a game. While Carissa tried to manufacture a rhythm, Steph went to work on back-ups and put her Hawaiian rival on the cusp of a combo. Carissa needed a ten with seven minutes to go and couldn’t do anything to stifle Steph’s momentum.

One up, Steph was under no illusions about the challenge that still lay ahead. Post-heat she duly noted that Carissa had come from one behind to win last year against Tatiana.

By round two, Kelly and Mick Fanning were in the booth talking about the time they almost came to blows after a Trestles event. It was almost like they were trying to out-commentate each other – well Kelly was. Meanwhile, if Steph was feeling any fatigue she’d shrugged it off because despite it being her fifth heat of the day she was still surfing at full throttle.  A clear indication of Steph’s exhilarating form was the fact she was posting higher scores on considerably shorter rides, doing more with less. Carissa played catch-up on longer runs and still couldn’t chase her down. With twelve to go Steph dissected a tricky wave with booby-trapped lips and tight sections. Jedi Kelly felt like he could read what was going through Steph’s mind. “I feel like she’s thinking, ‘this could be my world title wave right here’.” And in many ways it was. Every turn was inch perfect allowing Steph to surf the wave beyond its potential for an 8.23.  When Carissa missed a wave with priority with three minutes to go Kelly called the error a defining moment in pro surfing history. Steph pounced on Carissa’s missed opportunity, threw a frontside reverse, and emphatically spun her way into history with a 7.23 clincher.


Immediately after the heat Steph admitted to Strider she was totally spent, but she still had just enough energy to reach for the sky and roar with unrestrained elation and relief. She might have used an expletive, which in the moment seemed absolutely fitting. “I disliked this format and now I love it,” proclaimed Steph. However she was also quick to pay tribute to Carissa. “In my mind she’s the world champ this year.” However, on the podium Steph offered further endorsement for the radical new WSL system. “I’ve won a lot of titles in different ways but to be honest this was the best win I’ve had.”

Quizzed about the significance of world title number eight, which allows her to finally get out of the tie-break with Layne Beachley Steph commented, “It was always a dream of mine to win eight world titles… Eight’s a really cool looking number…  I didn’t think I was going to get it.”


Indeed, Steph Gilmore had overcome self-doubt and the disbelievers who felt one more title was perhaps beyond her. By the end of the day there was even talk of her hunting down Kelly’s eleven. If she can summon the kind of energy and flair she showed at Trestles then anything seems possible. We definitely saw some of her most innovative contest surfing ever today.

Whatever Steph does in the future, her legacy as one of the all-time greats of pro surfing and international sport is already sealed. As the world mourned the loss of one queen in England, Steph was hoisting another crown and reaffirming her right to the nickname even Mick Fanning uses for her – Steph Gilmore, The Queen.

Women’s WSL Finals Results
Title Match
Heat 2
Stephanie Gilmore – 15.23
Carissa Moore – 11.97
Heat 1
Stephanie Gilmore – 15.00
Carissa Moore – 10.90
Match 3
Stephanie Gilmore – 16.83
Johanne Defay – 10.53
Match 2
Stephanie Gilmore – 15.30
Tatiana Weston- Webb – 14.87
Match 1
Stephanie Gilmore – 14.76
Brisa Hennessy – 14.33



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