Sally craves three Bells
SHE’S the top-ranked surfer in Australia heading into the Bells Beach round of the World Tour but, at the end of it, Sally Fitzgibbons is aiming to be on top of the world.
Fitzgibbons was the only Australian – female or male – to make the semi-finals in the year’s opening tour event on the Gold Coast this month.
And she is one of only two Australians – Stephanie Gilmore is the other – to have rung the winner’s trophy bell at the longest running world championship level contest on the tour.
“It takes the planets to align to win at Bells,’’ said Fitzgibbons, who won her titles in 2011 and 2012.
“It’s like Wimbledon for us in surfing. It is very special.
“Just being here among the history fires me up.’’
The Rip Curl Pro is expected to begin today after poor conditions at the Victorian beach on day one of the competition window yesterday.
Fitzgibbons, who has spent much of the off-season recovering from a fractured shoulder sustained in the finale of last year’s tour in Maui, feels positive about her chances of snaring a third Bells crown.
One of her main rivals is American teen Caroline Marks after her season-opening win on the Gold Coast.
Marks was still eight years from being born when US legend Kelly Slater rang the iconic Bells Beach trophy in 1994 for the first time.
Now the two Florida surfers are among the star attractions at the Rip Curl Pro.
Marks, 17, is the new phenomenon of women’s surfing and Slater, 47, is the legendary 11-time world champion and four-time winner at Bells Beach.
In her debut at the event last year, Marks narrowly lost to eventual winner Stephanie Gilmore in the semi-finals.
“She’s such a talent; I’ve been calling her to win an event for well over a year now,” Slater said.
“I see her as a favourite. “Now she knows she can win, it’s going to open a floodgate for her and I see her as a realistic threat for the world title this year.”