The top female surfing professionals from around the globe kicked-off their campaign for the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title as the opening round of Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover, the first of seven stops
on the 2013 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, got underway at Rainbow Bay in Queensland, Australia, on Sunday, March 3, 2013.
With clean, three-to-four foot waves on offer at the alternate event site, the ladies were finally able to put their determination on display as they took each other on in triple-threat battles for a place straight into the third round without having to
go through the second round.
Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore, reigning five-time ASP Women’s World Champion, got just the start that she was looking for.
Pitted against America’s Sage Erickson and Australia’s Dimity Stoyle in the third heat, the 25-year-old Gilmore put on a superb performance to eventually finish with a heat-total of 16.84 points, which turned out to be a decisive score.
“There’s always a bit of pressure at the first event, especially since I live here and want to do well,” Gilmore said. “When the waves are good like today though, that pressure just goes out the window and all my focus is just on having fun. The girls this
year are probably better than any year in the past so every heat is difficult. It’s exciting though and hopefully it continues to push the level of women’s surfing.”
The Australian surfer would surely be looking to continue building momentum and eventually transforming this momentum to an overall win at Roxy Pro Gold Coast.
Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons was pushed much harder during the fourth heat, in which she found herself pitted against Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich and Brazil’s Silvana Lima.
The Peruvian surfer managed to post a 17.43 on the score-board, but Fitzgibbons still managed to out-perform her and eventually finish on top with a heat-total of 17.77 points.
Hawaii’s Carissa Moore, former ASP Women’s World Champion, also managed to register success in her Round 1 heat, holding off New Zealand’s Paige Hareb and Hawaii’s Alana Blanchard with a heat-title of 16.66 points to advance straight to the third round.
The day 1 action concluded with the completion of Round 1 at Rainbow Bay.
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