GILMORE CHASING MORE THAN JUST CROWN

Stephanie Gilmore is talking legacy.

If the 33-year-old is able to defy the odds and win an eighth World Surf League title when the finals are held at the famous Lower Trestles break in California next week, she will stand alone as the greatest women’s surfer in history.

Gilmore is competitive. She wants to break the record she currently shares with fellow Aussie great Layne Beachley.

“It’s been really cool to reach the number seven and Layne was a huge inspiration to me, of course,” Gilmore said. She won six in a row - I don’t think you’ll ever see anyone do that again - and she really paved the way in showing if you really dedicate your time and effort, there’s no limit to how much you can achieve.

“To win an eighth, of course (I want to), I’m competitive. Sitting equal is cool but eight would be even better.”

But what would an eighth title really mean?

For Gilmore, it’s about inspiring the next generation of surfers to be even better than her.

“That’s really the most important thing,” she said about the mark she was able to leave. You can win multiple world titles but you get to a point where you go: what’s the difference between the fifth and the seventh?

“It’s really about what you’re doing with that platform - how you’re carrying yourself in and around that and what kind of message or story you’re telling alongside those world titles that will really inspire the young girls to go through and to try and live out their dreams too.”

At 33, Gilmore is the oldest competitor in the finals field and along with Frenchwoman Johanne Defay, who she faces in the opening knockout heat, faces the toughest road to the title.

As the fourth seed, Gilmore needs to win three knockout battles, against Defay, fellow Aussie Sally Fitzgibbons and Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-webb to make the three-heat decider against world no.1 Carissa Moore.

But she says her age is a greater boost than it is a barrier.

“I’ve just learnt so much in the last few years,” she said.

“I find you hit your thirties and you’re more comfortable in your own skin and you’re able to approach things in a much more authentic way.

“We’ve learnt so much in the last decade about health and wellbeing and how to find longevity in your sports.

“But I feel great, my body great and we’ll see if I can take the way.”

Gilmore was initially sceptical about the finals format but given she now has the chance to walk away with the crown from fourth place, she’s onside.

“I was not too excited about it initially, just thinking that world champions should be crowned over the year where you’re surfing in all different types of waves,” she said. feels it all