Latest news with #originalbonsoy
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aussie surf legend still driven to take on the world
Stephanie Gilmore says the competitive fires are still burning as she prepares to return to the World Surf League where she will take on rivals almost half her age. As an eight-time world champion and six-time winner of the Gold Coast Pro, which gets underway this weekend, Gilmore has nothing left to prove. But the 36-year-old told AAP the drive to compete has never gone away, which is why she's making a one-off appearance in the World Surf League event at Burleigh Heads before returning full-time to the tour next year. @stephaniegilmore casually being patient for the inside-money session🗓️ @originalbonsoy #GoldCoastPro kicks off May 3.@gwmaustralia @queensland @experiencegoldcoast — World Surf League (@wsl) May 1, 2025 "Yes, it's still in there - if you think it, it's one of things you actually love to do and then someone asks you 'why are you still doing it?', like that's a ridiculous question," said Gilmore, who last surfed competitively in August 2023. "When I'm watching from afar, deep down there's still that burning desire like 'Oh wow, I wish I was in it'. "I just love competing, I love performing ... to come back and feel those emotions again, the nerves and excitement is really cool. "I have achieved a lot of what I wanted to achieve in my career but the cool thing about surfing is that the ocean always changes and there's a lot of conditions that I know I have a lot of work to do to get better at. "It's just about being able to improve all the time, it's an endless evolution of myself and my surfing and to be able to challenge yourself in a world stage. "Even if I'm not performing at my absolute best or winning the trophies as much as I used to I still enjoy that journey along the way." The Gold Cost Pro has been moved to Burleigh Heads after sand shifting in a recent cyclone affected the waves at Snapper Rocks, Gilmore's home break. She joked that she would have an excuse if she didn't win, but felt that the new location, as a right-hand point break, would still suit her. Gilmore has been drawn in a tough opening heat against reigning world champion Caitlin Simmers, aged 19 and Brazilian 20-year-old Luana Silva, who reached the final at last week's competition at Bells Beach. That event was won by Isabella Nicols, who is one of five Australian women in the Gold Coast Pro field. "Catie is one of my favourite surfers and Luana just made the final down there at Bells Beach so they're both in great form so it's a very tough heat to begin with but I'll do my best," Gilmore said. "Hopefully we can have a good battle and put on a show. "I'm excited to see if I can still keep up with the young women on tour who are doing such an amazing job at the moment of just rising the level of women surfing. "I'm hoping that my surfing is still relevant with the current crop of women but I don't think I've changed it too dramatically so hopefully it still works." Jack Robinson will look for successive titles in the men's competition following his Rip Curl Pro triumph. Robinson has climbed the rankings to sit third behind fellow Australian Ethan Ewing and leader, Brazil's Italo Ferreira. There are eight Australian men in the line-up, with one wildcard still to be decided.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aussies Wright and Nichols into semis at Bells Beach
Two-time world champion Tyler Wright will take on resurgent Isabella Nichols in an all-Australian women's semi-final in the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. Wright edged past Bettylou Sakura Johnson in the last of four women's quarter-finals on Saturday. The Hawaiian young gun had the highest-scoring single wave of the heat, a 7.73-pointer, but 31-year-old Wright advanced 14.00-13.20. Sakura Johnson won a paddle battle midway through the contest, but it was the Australian who eventually emerged triumphant, grabbing the decisive wave when the Hawaiian had priority. "Honestly that stuff is just entertaining, it's so fun," said Wright, who leapt off the jetski to set up the paddle battle in an attempt to grab priority. "It's not fun to be on the losing side of it, but it's one of those ones where she rolled the dice and I rolled mine and that's what it came out to be. "I fell on one (wave) that was probably going to legitimately put me up. "It's really tricky out there ... and I'm so happy with my competitive mentality in that heat." Wright is the only one of the four women's semi-finalists to have previously rung the famous bell, having won the Rip Curl Pro in 2022 and 2023. After spending last year on the Challenger Tour, Nichols has returned to the big time with a vengeance. That's one way to secure your finals day ticket! 🎟️Isabella's headed to the Semifinals at the #RipCurlProBellsBeach.@ripcurl @originalbonsoy @visitmelbourne — World Surf League (@wsl) April 26, 2025 She made the final of the most recent event in El Salvador and is now just two wins away from what would be a maiden triumph at the iconic Victorian venue. "I've been coming here since I was 15," said 27-year-old Nichols after downing Hawaiian Gabriela Bryan 15.94-10.67. "I just love this place so much. "It's pretty hard to tell what a good wave is going to be out there. "Someone told me right before I was going down the stairs to trust your gut. "I let a bunch of waves go and it was 'oh man, that could have been a back-up score or something', but I just waited and waited and I managed to find two pretty beautiful waves." Nichols' recent run of good results have come on a trusty old board she took back out of the cupboard a couple of years ago. "It has just been something that I can trust," she said. "I know that as soon as the waves get over three feet that if I'm activated and on my back foot that I've got it, no matter what." Sally Fitzgibbons was just pipped by Costa Rican Brisa Hennessy in a high-scoring quarter-final, with the veteran Australian going down 15.40-15.17. Hennessy clinched the win with a brilliant late ride, which the judges rewarded with 9.40 points - the highest-scoring wave of the women's event to date. The men's quarter-finals were being surfed later on Saturday, with both titles to be decided on Sunday.
Ya Biladi
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Ya Biladi
Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam's Rip Curl Pro ends in agony with knee injury
Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam's run at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Australia, came to a painful end after he sustained a serious knee injury while exiting the water following his heat. Boukhiam, who placed last in Heat 6, was walking across rocks back to shore when a wave struck him from behind, causing his left knee to twist. A video captured him crying out in pain, clutching his leg, and being helped from the water by fellow surfers. The 31-year-old was later taken off the beach in a medicab and seen limping on crutches into the event's medical suite. World No. 1 Italo Ferreira, who competed in the same heat, described the moment on the event broadcast: Injury update ? Ramzi has been injured exiting the water following his Opening Round heat. Wishing Ramzi a speedy recovery ? #RipCurlProBellsBeach @ripcurl @originalbonsoy @visitmelbourne — World Surf League (@wsl) April 22, 2025 «He'd just finished the wave and was waiting for the score. I saw him walking, then he went into the rock. The other wave hit him from behind… he said, 'I'm gone, I'm gone.'» On Instagram, Boukhiam shared a photo of himself being helped from the water by two surfers, writing: «Life doesn't always make sense… and right now, it's really tough to accept what happened». «Getting a major injury — again — and during a contest I felt so ready for, just breaks me», he added. «With everything I've already been through, it honestly hits deep». He thanked fellow surfers for their support and vowed to come back «stronger than ever», saying, «everything happens for a reason». Boukhiam was competing at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, the longest-running event in professional surfing and one of the most iconic stops on the World Surf League Championship Tour.
