Stephanie Gilmore says no favourites in 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour – Surfing News
The four-time Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour champion Stephanie Gilmore stated that there are no clear favourites in the upcoming season of the women’s elite tour.
In an interview with ASP World Tour’s official website, the 24-year-old Australian said, “It’s safe to say that the current ASP Top 17 are the best girls we’ve ever seen on tour. Any of the girls can beat any of the other girls in a heat and it’s an exciting
thing to watch.”
Heading into the 2011 ASP World Tour, Gilmore was aiming to walk away with her fifth consecutive title. However, the younger generation of surfers, namely Hawaii’s Carissa Moore and Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons deprived her of the milestone through their
spectacular performances.
The Coolangatta-based surfer was all praise for the 2011 ASP Women’s World champion, stating that she had been showing apparent signs of rising to the top since for the past few years. It was only a matter of time before she accomplished the greatest honour
that the sport has to offer.
“I don’t think anyone was surprised that she started doing so well on tour as we’ve all watched her grow up and saw her coming down the tracks for a while. She can do it all: big turns, fin releases, airs, barrels and she has a pretty impressive rhythm throughout
all her surfing,” conceded Gilmore.
However, the Gold Coaster further added that the Hawaiian was not the only surfer who had announced herself as a force to be reckoned with. Other surfers such as Australia’s Fitzgibbons and Tyler Wright had been nothing short of stupendous and were expected
to put up a strong fight for the World Title this year.
Gilmore is considered to be one of the most dominating female surfers in the history of the sport. At the age of 24, she has already collected four World Title and clinched top honours in 18 elite tour events. Three of these event victories were scalped
at the Roxy Pro.
It would be interesting to see if the experience of Gilmore will allow her to get the better of the young guns of surfing at the 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour.
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