Stephanie Gilmore defeats Sally Fitzgibbons to enter Final at Roxy Pro Gold Coast – Surfing News
Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore got the better of her compatriot Sally Fitzgibbons in the second Semi-final of Roxy Pro Gold Coat that went down at the iconic Snapper Rocks in Queensland, Australia, on Sunday, March 4.
The successful heat carried Gilmore through into the Final where she was going to face Australia’s Laura Enever for the coveted event title.
The opening event of the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Title had started off in good conditions though the quality of the waves had become a bit demanding as the competition progressed. By the time it reached the final day,
the waves had come down to two-to-three feet, making it challenging for the surfers and keeping them from unleashing the technical tricks with ease.
While majority of the foreign surfers had struggled to adapt to the challenging conditions, the Australian surfers had managed to make use of their local knowledge of the waves to put on solid performances and gradually advance through the competition to
eventually reach the Semi-finals.
The four-time ASP Women’s World Champion Gilmore found herself pitted against the 2011 ASP Women’s World Runner-Up Fitzgibbons in a battle for the coveted slot in the Final. While the 24-year-old Gilmore had been exhibiting a promising form since the very
first day, her rival had been looking somewhat shaky, though she had done exceptionally well to stay alive in contention for the event tile.
As the second Semi-final got underway, Fitzgibbons got off to a confident start, locking her first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post an 8.00 on the score-board. She later managed to add an additional 7.00 to her account to finish with
a heat-total of 15.00 points.
Even though the score seemed to be a challenging once taking the conditions into account, Gilmore comfortably got past her rival’s score after putting on a mesmerising show, much to the delight of the crowd. Locking her first business-wave, she managed to
collect an 8.57 for the effort and later followed it up with a near-perfect wave-score of 9.73 points. The outstanding performance resulted in a heat-total of 18.30 points, consequently sealing the fate of the contest in her favour and thus sending her through
into the Final.
Gilmore was going to face Enever in the Final of the opening event of the 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour, Roxy Pro Gold Coast.
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