Comeback star turns giant-killer
Another Australian comeback star has turned giant-killer on the Gold Coast, with veteran surfer Julian Wilson taking down rankings leader Italo Ferreira despite nearly missing his start time.
A day after eight-time world champ Steph Gilmore eliminated reigning world champ Caity Simmers in her first event in 18 months, Wilson, 37, who had to earn his wildcard into the event at Burleigh Heads by winning the qualifying event, stunned his Brazilian opponent in the round of 32.
Wilson, 36, and a former world No.2, stepped away from the tour in 2021 for mental health reasons, but his climb back to the tour now includes another win over Ferreira.
The Queenslander has now won all five clashes with the Brazilian and won despite thinking his heat was due for a start half an hour later than it did.
'It got the heart-rate going very quickly but it kind of worked in my favour,' he told the WSL. Julian Wilson is turning back the clock on the Gold Coast. Beatriz Ryder/World Surf League Credit: News Corp Australia
'I didn't really get to watch the conditions, I planned to have another 30 minutes to get in the water and ride some waves.
'It kind of worked in my favour cause the line-up's super tricky this morning and I felt like I adapted pretty well as I think if I had expectations of better waves it would have been harder to tune into what was actually going on.'
Wilson's cause was helped when Ferreira buckled his board trying an aerial manoeuvre early in the heat and had to paddle to shore for a replacement before trying to re-enter the water over rocks rather than use a jetski as time ticked away.
While the win was monumental, Wilson will now have to take down Frenchman Marco Mignot in the round of 16 to keep his title hopes alive.
The women's quarter-finals, with Gilmore among five Australians still alive, will have to wait.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
22 minutes ago
- West Australian
World Test Championship Final: Australia sent into bat on opening day of clash with South Africa
Marnus Labuschagne's credentials as an opener will receive an instant examination, with Australia set to bat first in the World Test Championship final. South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first in the showpiece Test match at Lord's. It means Labuschagne — elevated to open with the return of West Australian Cam Green — will walk out with Usman Khawaja. Green is playing his first Test for 16 months after radical back surgery. South African pair Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen are poised to open the bowling in a pace attack that also includes Lungi Ngidi. While overhead conditions are cloudy in London Australian captain Pat Cummins says he was happy to bat and predicted a dry wicket could bring spinner Nathan Lyon into play late in the match. Wickets in the United Kingdom have been dry early this season, but tenants Middlesex have put up big scores at Lord's in recent weeks. 'We're happy to bat first. It looks like a pretty good wicket, few clouds but it's pretty normal for England and it looks pretty dry, it might turn later in the match,' Cummins said. He also dismissed concerns over their build-up to the match, which has seen players fly in from across the world. 'It's been great, I think it's just something you get used to, the more you play. There are some people from India, from Australia, (some have been) over here, Smithy (Steve Smith) from New York,' Cummins said. 'We have had about a 10-day preparation and we are ready to go.' England champion Stuart Broad — who dominated at Lord's and has spent the week as a bowling consultant with South Africa — said the overhead conditions are crucial at the famous ground. 'The famous saying here is you look up, not down. It is a reasonable surface, but the reason South Africa won the toss and bowled is because of the clouds,' he said. 'When you bowl, you are hoping it doesn't get to day five, you are trying to get seven, eight wickets a day and make the breakthroughs.' As confirmed by Cummins on Wednesday, Josh Hazlewood has been favoured to Scott Boland and Sam Konstas misses out to make way for Labuschagne at the top of the order.
Sydney Morning Herald
34 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rooney makes bold McIntosh call as Nine lands broadcast rights to world swimming champs
Summer McIntosh could usurp Katie Ledecky as the greatest female swimmer of all time. That's the view of former Australian star Giaan Rooney after the Canadian's latest record-breaking performance in the pool. Having already broken Ariarne Titmus' 400m freestyle world record and Katinka Hosszu's 200m individual medley world mark, McIntosh sent the swimming world into another spin on Wednesday with a superb performance in the 200m butterfly at Canada's world championship trials. McIntosh clocked a time of 2:02.26, just outside the world record of 2:01.81 set in 2009 by China's Zige Liu's in a now-banned supersuit. The 18-year-old could win as many as five individual gold medals at next month's world championships in Singapore, which will be shown on the Nine Network. Could McIntosh go past Ledecky's Olympic record of nine gold medals and counting? 'I do believe that given Summer's age, we could see her challenge that [women's] record of Katie's, definitely,' said Rooney, who will commentate for Nine at the upcoming world championships. 'I think going into Singapore is the time when we're like, 'right, we are going to be talking about Summer for the rest of time'. She's just going from strength to strength. 'I think [she could get the record] mainly because of the number of events she swims. There will definitely come a time when that will get harder for her as she gets older but there are things that could play into Summer's hands, like the fact there are rumours the LA 2028 Olympic swimming program is 11 days long.
Sydney Morning Herald
34 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Depth of feeling and camaraderie': Why World Cup unites people like nothing else
Less than 24 hours after the Socceroos booked their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hundreds of Australians have already started planning their trips. Needing only to avoid a 5-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their qualifying tie in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Tony Popovic's side defeated their hosts 2-1 – and fans across the nation began dusting down their passports. Sydney lawyer Connor Jarvis has been playing and following the game since the age of four. After experiencing his first World Cup in Russia in 2018, the 29-year-old is excited to attend the 2026 edition, to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico. 'Going to any world event like this, is kind of just a carnival atmosphere,' he says. 'Everyone's there to have a wonderful time. You meet people from all over the world, everyone's speaking the same language – football. 'You talk about the players, talk about the games … I met this guy who'd sold all of his possessions just to go and see Peru playing in the Russia World Cup because it was the first time they'd qualified [in 35 years]. 'There's the depth of feeling and camaraderie we have. We're all people in this world, and it's just a nice way for us all to come together.' Jarvis is far from alone. In the hours after the Socceroos' qualification was confirmed, the inboxes of tour companies were inundated with messages from fans seeking information about travelling to the US. Michael Edgley, a director at Green and Gold Army Travel – which specialises in organising World Cup packages – says hundreds of fans reached out to him on Wednesday, while thousands had already expressed interest before the Socceroos even qualified.
