Gilmore survives scare

SURF champion Stephanie Gilmore has kicked off her bid for a record equaling seventh world crown with a major scare.

Gilmore trailed her opening three-woman heat at the Roxy Pro France at Hossegor late yesterday until the final five minutes.

“I was trailing pretty much for the whole heat and I though, uh, oh,” Gilmore said from France after her heat.

“They kept choosing the best waves and positions and I started to pick all the wrong ones. With five minutes left I thought ‘this is doable. I just need need to make space and find some good waves’.

“It was a close call. It certainly got my heart racing.

“It’s not the way I wanted to start but I will take it.”

Gilmore scored 11.36 to sneak past American Saige Erickson (10.53) with Tahitian Vahine Fierro third with a 10.10 score in round one.

The only woman capable of stopping Gilmore winning her seventh world title is American Lakey Peterson.

Peterson scored a narrow victory in the heat following Gilmore’s, beating fellow American Courtney Conlogue 9.67 to 9.03 to advance into the third round.

“I hope I can push it and take it to Hawaii,” Peterson said.

If Gilmore fails to win the world crown in France she can still achieve the feat in the women’s world tour finale in Maui next month.

By winning, Gilmore will match surf legend Layne Beachley’s record of seven world surfing crowns.