Tyler Wright downs Sally Fitzgibbons to take out the Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro title
Australia’s Tyler Wright claimed overall victory at the Colgate Plax Girls Rio Pro, fifth of seven stops on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Championship Tour, after getting the better of her compatriot Sally Fitzgibbons
in an exciting final at the Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, May 11, 2013.
Wright was ecstatic to register yet another victory in this season, as it allowed her to inch even closer to the most coveted honours in the sport, the ASP Women’s World Title.
“This feels pretty good,” Wright said. “This whole event has been stepping stones for me. I started off a bit shaky and this is my first even where my family is not here with me. Brooke Farris was here looking after me and thanks to everyone for all of their
support. After I lost that Round 3 heat I just wanted to catch waves and I stayed busy from then on. It’s just the way it worked out. I just love catching waves. I just kept building and building and I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is just fantastic
to come to Rio, I love it.”
The peaky two-to-three foot waves were exactly what the young Australian had hoped to contest the final heat of the competition in and even though she was against a seasoned ASP elite tour campaigner Fitzgibbons, her spirits were clearly not deterred, neither
did she seem to be under any sort of pressure.
Fitzgibbons, defending event champion, had been in a dangerous form since the start of the event and that is precisely why she faced little challenged as she made her way into the finals.
The battle for the overall win, however, was never going to be an easy one for her as she was about to take on another in-form Australian surfer, who had been looking equally formidable over the past few days.
As the contest for the event title got underway, Fitzgibbons managed to bring herself in a strong position by scoring an 8.17 off her first business-wave. She later backed it up with a 7.50-point ride, thus getting to a heat-total of 15.67 points.
Wright, however, seemed to be in no mood to settle for runner-up place and therefore really stepped up.
Locking her first business-wave, the young Australian surfer registered a decisive 9.30 on the score-board and later added an additional 8.50 points to her account to finish with a het-total of 17.80 points.
Her outstanding performance in such a pressure situation paid off, allowing her to take home the Colgate Plax Girls Pro title.
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