Carissa Moore triumphs over Sally Fitzgibbons in Billabong Rio Pro final – Suring News
The Billabong Rio Pro wrapped up with an intense final on Sunday, May 15, at Barra Da Tijuca in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. After a real nail-biting contest, it was Hawaii’s Carissa Moore who managed to prevail over Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons to secure her
third elite victory of the season.
Over the last week, the event had seen several lay days because of the low tides. The final was not blessed by ideal conditions either, but the punchy two-to-four foot waves at least offered something to the surfers to work with.
Both Moore and Fitzgibbons opened their accounts with almost the same score after locking their first wave. However, the 18-year-old Hawaiian snatched the lead almost midway through the heat with a second-wave score of 8.10. She ended up with a final score
of 14.87.
The 20-year-old Australian did not look too shabby either as she threw off some amazing manoeuvres on her second wave. However, she failed to earn enough score for her effort to surpass her rival and had to surrender victory to settle for second place.
Talking to the reporters after the final, an ecstatic Moore said, “I just went out there and had fun and to me there was no pressure in the Final. I was just stoked to be in the Final regardless of how I finished. Obviously I’m happy that I won. The girls
really didn’t go on those lefts, but they worked out for me today.”
Fitzgibbons, who has won two of the five Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour events that have taken place this season, said, “It’s a long year and there are a couple of events to go and it has been great here competing in Rio for
the first time. Looking into the next few events it’s really going to be about stepping it up and having fun and focusing on my surfing. Hopefully I can get a few more results.”
The race for this season’s ASP Women’s World Title only has Moore and Fitzgibbons left in contention. With only two more events to go, both the surfers will be more determined than ever to win the next to stops to secure the title.
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