Gilmore’s next goal is going for gold
STEPHANIE Gilmore’s relentless drive sees the seventime world champion wanting it all, with the Australian’s sights now firmly set on Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2020.
Gilmore is a star of her sport who doesn’t run from pressure – she rides on it.
“You know that saying, you can’t win everything? I actually think you can win everything,” Gilmore said in a YouTube profile last year.
The 30-year-old’s winning mentality was never more evident than during last week’s seventh women’s world title win, where she equalled the record of fellow Aussie Layne Beachley in the steel-blue waters of Honolua Bay.
When the next Australian Olympic Squad readiness camp is held in January on the far North Coast of NSW, Gilmore will set her clock and her sights, on the countdown to being an Olympic champion.
The camp, at Surfing Australia’s $10 million world-class High Performance Centre at Casuarina, will include every Australian surfer on the 2019 world championship tour.
Only the top two-ranked women and top two-ranked men will be selected when the team is announced just prior to the Tokyo games.
If the team were chosen today, Gilmore (world No.1) and Sally Fitzgibbons (No.6) would be handed surfing’s first Olympic uniform.
Ultimately though, results and rankings from the 2019 World Championship Tour, will most likely finalise who travels to Japan.
But undeniably, Gilmore has proved she’s one of Australian surfing’s greatest hopes of securing the sport’s firstever Olympic medal.
“Surfing for Australia in the Olympics – what an honour,’’ surf legend Tom Carroll said.
“Steph is so in the box seat for a potential gold medal, especially given how Surfing Australia’s High Performance team will give so much support in building our team.
“The idea of being an Olympic gold medallist in surfing ... I admit it would’ve been unreal to represent my country and do that, to stand up on the podium.’’