FERREIRA OH YEAH!
BRAZILIAN Italo Ferreira the best for last, executing a clean 360 degree spin on the final wave to take out the season-opening Quiky Pro at Duranbah Beach yesterday.
CAROLINE Marks ditched a horse for a surf board on her brothers’ urgings a decade ago and says they’ve since helped drive her to a maiden World Surf League tournament trophy at just 17.
The youngest on tour looked anything but as she calmly collected 13.83 points in tricky conditions to sweep by three-time world champion Carissa Moore (11.67) in yesterday’s final and claim the Boost Mobile Pro on the Gold Coast.
The Florida teenager had already beaten world No.1 and seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore – on the Duranbah Beach break Gilmore calls home – in Saturday’s quarter-finals.
After being showered in a sponsor’s product she’s still too young to legally drink, Marks described it as the best week ever.
“I just have so much adrenaline; I’ve looked up to these girls my whole life and still do, they’re just my heroes,” she said.
“It’s incredible, oh frick, I didn’t know it would happen this fast. I’m just so psyched.”
Marks’ first love was horse riding before being lured to surfing by her brothers as a seven-year-old.
“Being around older people, a bunch of older brothers and their expectations of me were so high,” Marks said of her impressive maturity levels.