Sally Fitzgibbons' resurgence falls short as Bettylou Sakura Johnson claims first WSL title
Sally Fitzgibbons has gone down swinging in the final of the Gold Coast Pro, with Bettylou Sakura Johnson claiming her first World Surf League trophy.
Fitzgibbons was hunting her first Championship Tour title in four years, but her 20-year-old Hawaiian rival emerged triumphant in Saturday's showdown.
The 34-year-old threw everything at her young rival, surfing a mammoth 13 waves, but fell short with a two-wave score of 7.83 to Sakura Johnson's impressive tally of 15.33.
Fitzgibbons was on the back foot from the get-go, with her opponent posting a score of 8.50 on her first wave in front of a huge crowd at Burleigh Heads.
The Gerroa surfer went to the air four times, trying to stick a landing that would give her a score to put her back in contention, but she was unable to seal the deal.
It was Sakura Johnson's second win of the day over a local hope after earlier eliminating top-ranked Australian Molly Picklum in the quarter-finals.
'It's so special and I feel amazing,' said Sakura Johnson, who has waited four years on the CT for her first title. 'I'm so over the moon.'
Outscoring Canadian wunderkind Erin Brooks in the semi-finals earlier in the day, Fitzgibbons was chasing her first title since 2021 when she won the Rip Curl Rottnest Search, on Western Australia's Rottnest Island.
Mental ‼️A perfect 10.00.Finals Day is ON! @originalbonsoy #GoldCoastPro @gwmaustralia @experiencegoldcoast @queensland pic.twitter.com/ou9wAOVaSK
Her win over Brooks helped secure a position above the cut line, which comes into play after the next contest at Margaret River, moving into the the top 10 just by reaching the final.
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Earlier Brooks, 17, eliminated six-time Gold Coast champion and eight-time world title holder Stephanie Gilmore in the quarters.
With Gilmore's former coach Jake Patterson in her corner, Brooks used superior wave selection to get the better of the Australian legend, who is due to return to the tour full-time next year.
Winning qualifying to get a wildcard start, 36-year-old Julian Wilson is also through to the men's final, where he will take on Brazilian Felipe Toledo in a rematch of their 2015 Gold Coast Pro decider. Toledo won that 2015 battle.
Wilson, who hasn't competed on the CT for almost four years, overcame Japan's Kanoa Igarashi in the semi-finals while Toledo posted a perfect 10 en route to a win over another Brazilian, Alejo Muniz.
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