Stephanie Gilmore’s special motivation and tribute in surfing year to remember

A year ago at the same venue she won the world championship for a seventh time in Maui on Tuesday, Stephanie Gilmore got mad. A few months later she was left shattered by a loss of a different kind.

Stephanie Gilmore at Honolua Bay. Pic: WSL/SLOANE

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Exactly a year ago at the same venue where she won the world championship for a seventh time in Maui on Tuesday, Stephanie Gilmore got mad.

A few months later she was left shattered by a loss of a different kind.

After winning a record-equalling seventh world crown, Gilmore has revealed details of a critical surfing moment and the heartbreak of losing a friend which provided twin inspiration for a season to remember in 2018.

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In Maui a year ago, Gilmore realised she had missed winning her seventh crown by a single heat.

That’s 20-30 odd minutes of surfing over nine months of competition.

Stephanie Gilmore at Honolua Bay.

The knowledge upset her, stung, “kind of smashed me in the face” Gilmore said in the wake of the loss.

“It really fired me up.’’

She said the close call a year ago made her realise she needed to amp things up, work harder, be hungrier and surf more aggressively than ever before.

Then early in the New Year, Gilmore was told Quiksilver CEO and friend Pierre Agnes was missing at sea.

Stephanie Gilmore on her way ti the world title.

On Tuesday, just minutes after securing the world crown midway through the Maui Pro, she dedicated her world title to him.

“He has been on my mind since the first event of the year. I remember at the start of the year saying, ‘I want to win the world title for Pierre’,’’ Gilmore told The Daily Telegraph from Hawaii.

“I was really upset. In that minute I realised how much I wanted to win the world title for something bigger than myself.

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“When I went to France and it didn’t get it was heartbreaking.’’

On Wednesday Gilmore ended the world tour with a world crown but not the Maui Pro title she had hoped would be a fairytale finishing touch to one of the best seasons of her career.

Gilmore was knocked out in the semi-finals by local Malia Manuel who finished runner-up to former world champion Carissa Moore.

Over at Jaws, Australian Russell Bierke failed to make the final of the Big Wave Tour event, crashing out in the semi-finals.