TOKYO DREAM
SURF STAR BEATS WRIGHT IN MAUI
“SEE you in Tokyo.”
And with that, Olympic gold medal contender and Australia’s smiling assassin of surfing Stephanie Gilmore, sent a message to the world.
Up on stage after her fifth win at the season-ending Maui Open in Hawaii yesterday, Gilmore had the final say of the year by dropping the subliminal hint to her rivals that the six-month countdown to Tokyo had begun.
Finishing the 2019 World Championship Tour year ranked No.4 in the world, Gilmore – the most successful surfer in history – has been selected alongside world No.5, Sally Fitzgibbons, to represent Australia at the Tokyo Games in June. It will be surfing’s debut as an Olympic sport.
“See you in Tokyo, this will be really cool,’’ Gilmore, the seven-time world champion, said, pointing to her rivals.
Gilmore, 31, completed her season by ending the incredible comeback story of her close friend Tyler Wright.
Wright, Australia’s twotime world champion, made her return to competition in Maui after being forced to put her career on hold for 17 months.
So serious was the debilitating virus she endured, Wright suffered a mess of neurological problems. Yet despite returning to the water 10kg lighter as a result of the virus, she stunned her rivals by progressing to the final, where she met her mentor Gilmore.
“I couldn’t have thought of a better person to share the final with,’’ Gilmore said. “We’ve missed her a lot, but she’s surfing better than ever.’’