Sally Fitzgibbons vows to fight back after surf world title wipeout
SHE lost her fight for a world championship but the fight hasn’t gone out of beleaguered surfer Sally Fitzgibbons.
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SHE lost her fight for a maiden world championship but the fight hasn’t gone out of beleaguered Australian surfer Sally Fitzgibbons.
As she prepares to watch a rival — potentially Aussie Tyler Wright — be crowned the 2017 world champion — as early as Friday, a shattered Fitzgibbons has vowed she will be back “better than ever’’ after a young wildcard triggered the destruction of her title bid at the Maui Pro
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“It was one of those days. I was flying the Aussie flag with pride. I was calm and then the waves stopped and the heat ended and it was all gone,’’ Fitzgibbons told Daily Telegraph Sport.
“I have to digest it a bit and roll on. I’m still here and so is my dream. I’ll be back, don’t you worry about that.’’
Legendary surfer Martin Potter summed it up best as he watched Fitzgibbons’ dream of a maiden world title torn to pieces by the energy and fearlessness of wildcard Brisa Hennessy.
“It doesn’t get any heavier than that,” said former men’s world champion Potter.
Fitzgibbons looked to the sky in frustration as the ocean, which this season helped deliver her the best surfing of her career, turned on her.
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The loss meant every one of her four rivals had to fail spectacularly for her bid to remain alive — a scenario which was never going to play out.
Around an hour later, Wright bought the crowd to its feet with a near-perfect ride in heat three to book herself a spot in the quarter-finals, officially ending Fitzgibbons’ world title race.
“These knock backs make me stronger, there’s a new opportunity around the corner for sure,’’ Fitzgibbons said. “Hopefully one of the other Aussies brings it home now.’’
Wright is favourite to do this.
“I know we’re here to do a job and that’s what it comes down to,” Wright said.
If Wright makes the final, win or lose, she defends her crown.
If she finishes third, American Courtney Courtney must win the Maui Pro to take the world title. If Wright finishes fifth, Conlogue only needs to make the final to win overall.
Six-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore and former Hawaiian titleholder Carissa Moore can also win the world crown if Wright finishes fifth and one or the other of them wins the event.
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“That was heartbreaking to watch Sally [Fitzgibbons] go down and it was just one those things,’’ Gilmore said.
“I’ve been in that position before where I’ve lost chasing that world title, and it still went my way in the end, but it’s like getting stabbed in the neck basically — it was really, really tough.’’