Stephanie Gilmore defeats Tyler Wright to claim Roxy Pro Biarritz 2012 Title
Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore took out the Roxy Pro Biarritz 2012 after getting the better of her fellow countryperson Tyler Wright in the Final that went down at La Grande Plage in Biarritz, France, on Saturday, July 14.
The battle for top honours turned out to be an intense affair, with both the surfers putting on an impressive show, much to the delight of the huge crowd that had gathered at the primary event sight to witness the elite Association of Surfing Professionals
(ASP) female surfers in action.
Wright, current No.3 on the ASP Women’s World Ranking, had been on fire since the start of the competition. Even the likes of America’s Courtney Conlogue and Hawaii’s Coco Ho were unable to bring her excellent run to a halt as she gradually made her way
into the Final.
Gilmore, on the other hand, continued to live up to her reputation at Biarritz. She had arrived at the site requiring one three more wins to secure her fifth ASP Women’s World Title and comfortably did that after beating 2011 ASP Women’s World Champion Carissa
Moore in the semi-finals.
With the pressure completely off her shoulders, the Australian legendary surfer could afford to surf with any worry in her head or pressure on her shoulders.
As the battle for top honours got underway, Gilmore took charge from the world go. She navigated her way through the waves to get her hands on a potent scoring opportunity, which she utilised to unload a series of exquisite manoeuvres to post a 9.00 on the
score-board. Keeping the momentum going, she immediately backed it up with a 9.53-point ride, thus reaching a heat-total of 18.53 points.
Wright found herself struggling to come up with a decent response to her rival’s onslaught. After a determined hunt, she managed to find a 5.10 and 8.00-point ride, thus reaching a heat-total of 13.10 points. The inadequate score forced her to concede victory
and thus the overall title to her rival.
Commenting on the Final and her overall performance during Roxy Pro Biarritz 2012, Wright stated, “I was so excited for Steph [Gilmore]. She was ahead of me the whole time and with five minutes to go I was like, ‘you’ve done it!’ It’s incredible – she ripped
the whole contest and didn’t lose one heat, she was shredding!”
Even though the fate of the current ASP Women’s World Championship Tour has already been decided, the elite surfers will still face each other at the final stop Nike US Open of Surfing, which is scheduled to go down at Huntington Beach in California, America,
from July 30-August 5.
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