INJECTION OF RELIEF AS WILSON STUNG INTO ACTION
Aussie ‘Irukandji’ quartet recover from early wobble to surf safely through to second round
WHEN Julian Wilson landed a textbook reverse air with three minutes remaining in his knockout heat, the dismount from the wave he had just ridden into the next round included something extra.
Surfing a board featuring the footprints of his children Olivia and River, and wife Ashley’s handprint, Wilson let loose with an emotional clap that released the tension that had built during the day.
“It was a bit spirited for sure,” a relieved Wilson said after booking his place in Monday’s knockout stages.
“I felt like my back was up against the wall there.”
Earlier, Wilson was the only Aussie not to win his opening heat on Sunday, meaning he had to surf again for his Olympics survival after watching teammates Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons and Steph Gilmore punch their tickets to Monday.
Gilmore stayed back on the beach to cheer Wilson home – testament to the close bond the Aussies have built over years on tour and in the past few days inside camp Irukandji.
Wilson gave a double stingers gesture in the surf soon after – an Aussie team “claim” he says has roots to the Irukandjis moniker.
“We’ve got a couple of little claims we do – that was a tentacle sting, because we’re called the Irukandjis, and we have this other one that’s a bit like a jellyfish wobble,” Wright said.
“It’s for whenever you have that big moment. For me, I won that heat so I said ‘I’m going to claim that’.”
Australian joins the US and Brazil as the only countries to have all four surfers continue through to the knockout stages. Wright got the party started, locking in two solid opening waves, before going to the air for a five-point wave and taking first place with less than a minute to run.
Wright spoke of the emotional build-up to his first Olympic surf, admitting he “felt a bit sick” on the beach. But once the Aussie touched his board he was good to go, pulling out an early air to hit the lead and calm the nerves in a heat featuring former world champion John John Florence.
“It’s a whole new ball game and a whole new level of emotions,” Wright said of Olympic competition.
Fitzgibbons was up next for the Aussies in perhaps the most competitive heat of the day.
Trailing young gun Brisa Hennessey from Costa Rica and South African Bianca Buitendag with six minutes to go, a patient Fitzgibbons finally found the wave she was looking for.
“In small conditions you’re not always going to get the opportunities you like,” she said. “I just had to trust my opportunity would come and back myself from there.”
Fitzgibbons’ love for the Olympics is not news to anyone who has followed the Aussie star over the past 18 months. But standing on the sand at Tsurigasaki Beach just moments from surfing her first Olympics, the girl from Gerroa in NSW said her only thought was of home.
“On the beach it was (all about) that connection to home,” Fitzgibbons said. “Getting beamed back into all the loungerooms back home; hopefully just bringing a smile to people’s faces, a bit of joy, and they can sit back and enjoy some surfing.”
But the best was yet to come for the Aussies, as seven-time world
champion Stephanie Gilmore recorded the best individual scoring performance of the opening day.
Gilmore’s decision not to return to Australia after the most recent WSL event seemingly paid off.
“I spent the whole month in California before this, and California has waves just like this, so I feel I was making smart decisions,” Gilmore said after her 14.50 total.
“I could have been at home getting barrelled on the Gold Coast but I chose not to – sacrifices.
“I’ve surfed one heat already so that’s good – one down. I feel like I can officially say I’m an Olympian.”