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Tough competition awaits an in-form Sally Fitzgibbons in 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour

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Tough competition awaits an in-form Sally Fitzgibbons in 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour
The Australian professional surfer Sally Fitzgibbons is being considered as one of the strongest contenders for the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Title.
This hardly comes as a surprise after taking a quick look at the 2011 season.
The 21-year-old New South Wales-based surfer had made a strong impact during the last season of women’s elite tour. Her consistency performances and handful of event successes served to make her the only threat to Hawaii’s Carissa Moore’s chances of becoming
the ASP Women’s World champion.
Even though she was not able to keep the young Hawaiian from getting her hands on the ASP World Title, she did manage to leave a lasting impression, convincing a number of critics that she would go all the way in her next campaign for the coveted honours.
As the 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour kicked-off with Roxy Pro Gold Coast at Snapper Rocks in the last week of February, Fitzgibbons picked up from where she had left off last year. Pitted against the best female surfers from around the world, the young Australian
got off to a brilliant start, putting on a series of brilliant performance in the initial rounds to smoothly make her way into the Semi-finals.
Pitted against former four-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore in a battle for the event’s title-shot, Fitzgibbons found herself staggering for the first time since the start of the competition. Her compatriot was in a superb form and managed
to post a couple of big scores on the score-board. Fitzgibbons was unable to hold her own and eventually succumbed to her rival’s onslaught to get eliminated from the first stop of the 2012 ASP women’s elite tour.
Reaching the Semi-finals while facing the ASP Top 16 was indeed a good start for the Australian surfer. However, Gilmore made her intentions clear as well through her phenomenal performance at Snapper Rocks. Even though she had lost her winning streak by
failing to clinch the ASP Women’s World Title in 2011, she seemed eager to reclaim the throne. She had made it clear in an interview prior to the start of Roxy Pro Gold Coast that she felt strongly, both physically and mentally, a sign that she was going to
be a formidable opponent this year. Her victory in the opening stop of the latest campaign for the World Title was just the sort of thing she needed after last year’s disappointment.
Fitzgibbons does not only have to worry about an apparently in-form Gilmore, but also needs to keep her eyes on Moore. The defending ASP World Champion has been nothing short of mesmerising throughout 2011 and is expected to put up a strong fight in 2012
to ensure a successful defence of her title.
Even though Moore was unable to perform as well as she was expected at Roxy Pro Gold Coast, she did manage to get into the Quarter-finals before succumbing to the 2011 ASP Women’s Rookie of the Year Tyler Wright from Australia, consequently walking away
with considerable championship points that may prove to be crucial in the later stages of the season.
The road to the 2012 ASP Women’s World Title will not be an easy one for Fitzgibbons and would test her at every stop, though the Australian proved last year that she was more than capable of handling the pressure and downing the world’s top female surfers.
 
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.

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