Super-grom Sierra Kerr nearly takes down surfing GOAT as Sally Fitzgibbons surges into semis
They call her ‘smiling Sally’ – and Sally Fitzgibbons had plenty of reasons to do so at the Gold Coast Pro on Friday. PICTURES
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DAY 4: They call her ‘smiling Sally’ – and Sally Fitzgibbons had plenty of reasons to do so at the Gold Coast Pro on Friday.
The NSW south coast surf star, recently bumped off the main pro tour missing the mid-season cut, carved her way through the round of 16 and then won her quarter-final to make the final four.
In the round of 16 she took down American Alyssa Spencer with a 12.53 combined score versus 12.
In a nailbiting quarter final, Fitzgibbons advanced with a 7.33 and a 6.20 wave for a combined 13.3 to take down France’s Vahine Fierro with 12.83.
It pits Fitzgibbons in a semi-final against another American Sawyer Lindblad on Saturday.
Speaking after her quarter-final victory, a beaming Fitzgibbons said whether she was on the main World Surf League tour or back competing on the second-tier Challenger Tour “they are all great canvases”.
“I was really proud to come out the way I did on top.”
Meanwhile Gold Coast-based eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore joined her in the semi-finals, backing up a buzzer-beater win on Thursday over teen sensation Sierra Kerr with a solid victory over American Nyxie Ryan.
Gilmore scored 13.50 to Ryan’s 11.50, again pulling out the win with minutes remaining by notching at 6.5 for her final wave of the heat.
“It’s good to have a couple of last minute (wins in) heats,” Gilmore said afterwards.
“She really utilised her priority well so it was tough. I was just ‘ok, if I can’t get a set wave, I’m going to push really hard on a small one and hope I can get over a four’. The commentators said three minutes to to go and I was like ‘That’s ok, I did it yesterday’, it kind of gave me the confidence to know I could do it again.”
The Gold Coast Pro action continues first thing on Saturday morning.
The men’s quarter-finals are first up before the women’s semi-finals – featuring both Gilmore and Fitzgibbons - before the men’s semis and then the finals for both.
It is estimated the Pro will wrap up by noon.
DAY 3: Super-grom Sierra Kerr’s dream of beating idol Stephanie Gilmore fell agonisingly short as the eight-time world champion showed why she is regarded as surfing’s ‘GOAT’ by coming up with a last-minute miracle.
It was a clash of the master and the apprentice in the Gold Coast Pro, with arguably the world’s best female surfer in history coming up against a 16-year-old who could very well be the Gold Coast’s next big thing in Kerr, the daughter of former Championship Tour Josh Kerr.
The multi-sport athlete — who also plays rugby, golf and skateboards — put out a brilliant performance against her friend and idol in Gilmore, leading for the entire heat until Gilmore produced her trademark magic.
The battle was electric, with Kerr putting Gilmore in a combination situation, the superstar needing two waves in the dying minutes to cause an upset.
She clawed back the margin to need only a score of 7.2, and with just over a minute remaining the superbank provided a wave that Gilmore was finally able to go to work on with several combination moves and a late barrel, giving her a score of 9.33.
“I’m getting emotional, what a moment for the Kerr family,” said commentator Ronnie Blakey.
After the win, Gilmore told media: “Sierra is an awesome surfer and she’s got such a long future ahead of her smashing everyone so it felt really nice to get one up on her now.
“That was a tough one though, she came out of the gates firing. I was looking at her going, ‘go easy on me grom.’ I remember being a kid at Snapper and being so confident and loving being out there with just one of my heroes. I remember what that felt like and I’m sure that’s what she was feeling.
“At the end, I knew I had to fall back on some experience and try and do my very best rail surfing and see if that holds up.”
When asked earlier in the week what she credited her talent on the water to, Kerr said it was all about having “fun”.
“It was so fun catching so many waves, I just wanted to go out and have some fun,” Kerr said.
“I’ve just been surfing a lot and going out and doing a bunch of trips with my dad and just having a lot of fun.”
The teenager’s rise to reach the main draw was all thanks to her win at the Trials Event last Friday, where she had to overcome a field of 16 of Queensland’s best non-Challenger Series female surfers in a one-day winner takes all event.
In a silver lining to her loss on Thursday, Kerr previously booked her spot in the 2023 WSL World Junior Championships after taking out the Harvey Norman Pro Junior event last week.
“I’m so stoked to win both of these events today,” Kerr said after her Pro Junior win.
“I had such a good time at the World Juniors this year I’d really like to go back, and this win will be important in getting me back there.
“As for the Trials win, I can’t wait to compete at the Challenger Series level again. I’ve learned a lot since last year and am frothing to go further this year.”
Gilmore will now progress to the quarterfinals on Friday.
In the men’s competition, it was carnage out on the water as several Australian competitors found themselves knocked out by fierce international competition.
2022 World Junior Champion Jarvis Earle was eliminated in Heat 1 by Hawaii’s Imaikalani deVault and Evan Geiselman who both notched scores of 12.77 and 12.07 respectively, with Earle landing 8.73.
George Pittar, Reef Heazlewood, Jackson Baker, Dylan Moffat and 2023 Usher Cup champion Morgan Cibilic all said goodbye to their chances of finals as they finished in the bottom two of their respective heats.
Australia’s chances at a men’s championship now lies in Heat 2 winner Jacob Willcox from Margaret River and Heat 3 runner-up Mikey McDonagh of Lennox Head who will head into the finals bracket on Friday.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10
Hannah Davies
The surfing gods finally smiled on Snapper Rocks, turning on pristine waves as some of the bigger names at the Gold Coast Pro took to the water.
After some disappointing conditions leading into the event, Wednesday’s waves were perfect for the World Surf League Challenger Series competition.
In the men’s division, 2022 world junior champion Jarvis Earle made a strong start to his campaign, winning Heat 2 with ascore of 12.17, while World No. 1 Joao Chianca took out Heat 8 ripping a score of 11.34. Both advanced to the Round of 32on Thursday.
In a shock to the competition, World No. 12 Caio Ibelli bombed out of his heat with a score of 8.63, losing out to day onestandout Hiroto Ohhara of Japan on a score of 10.83.
Regular challenger series surfer Frederico Morais of Portugal took out the fourth heat of the day in what was a gruellingbattle against American Evan Geiselman, Barbados’s Josh Burke and Aussie Callum Robson, who was knocked out with a tough scoreof 6.70.
“There were many good surfers and a bit of a flurry at the end – everything you don’t want,” Morais said.
“But it came out my way and I’ve made it to the next round so I’m happy.
“I knew it was going to be super challenging, there was no room for mistakes so I played my game and played it well.”
In the first women’s heat of the afternoon, eight-time world champion and local favourite Stephanie Gilmore headlined theopening heat of the women’s Round of 32, coming up against Australian upstarts Mia Huppatz and Nyxie Ryan, as well as formerCT competitor Pauline Ado of France.
Gilmore came with plenty of hype from the commentators, but was challenged by Lennox Head’s local Ryan who took out the topspot with a score of 12.84.
Chasing her seventh series title, Gilmore carved two six waves to reach her own score of 12.63, advancing her to the Roundof 16, with commentator’s noting it wasn’t her best performance.
Burleigh Heads wildcard Huppatz, 17, put out a good effort but just couldn’t pull off her final wave and went on tofinish in fourth with a score of 8.57. Snapper Rocks local Sheldon Simkus has missed out in the round of 64 at the Gold Coast Pro.
The hometown hope who won through after winning his heat on Tuesday ended up fourth in the four-man heat, taken out by Byron surfer Mikey McDonagh.
McDonagh notched 11.32 from his two waves, beating American Nat Young (10.30), Brazil’s Alejo Muniz (9.74) whilst Simkus scored 9.44 from his two best waves.
More Gold Coasters will likely be in action later today in the women’s heats including eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore.
The round of 64 men’s heats started from 7.35am and will be followed by the women’s round of 32 heats later.
In action today has been world number one male surfer Joao Chianca, of Brazil, who won his heat with an 11.34 to advance.
EARLIER: Snapper Rocks’ Sheldon Simkus is among those taking advantage of local knowledge on the first day of heats at the 2023 Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro surfing contest.
The 17-year-old missed out on glory in 2022 at the Snapper Rocks event by less than a point in the final against fellow Australian Callum Robson - and has returned to finish what he started.
“I felt like last year was a really pivotal event for me,” Simkus said. “In comps you can go good or go bad and I had a lot of fun.
“I want to replicate something similar this year and go all the way.”
The 10-day international surfing competition was put on hold due to poor weather conditions, with rounds commencing on Tuesday.
Simkus glided through his first round scoring an 8.5 in front of a home crowd.
“I just felt like it was another day down at my home break,” he said. “It’s such a good community we have here based around Snapper and you can feel that.”
The performance earns him a spot in the rounds of 64 set to commence on Wednesday provided conditions hold.
“The next couple of days are going to be really fun so I just want to keep making heats and surf Snapper,” he said.
In the women’s Kobie Enright and Sierra Kerr are also through to Wednesday’s rounds of 32 which will also feature eight-time world champion Steph Gilmore and hungry NSW south coast surfer Sally Fitzgibbons, trying to find her way back to the main tour.
Day two will showcase some of the top-seeded surfers in the world, with all 16 heats of the men’s round of 64 plus potential for the women’s round of 32 to begin later in the day.
Elsewhere in the competition, 11-time world champion Kelly Slater’s appearance remains a mystery as rumours circulate he might not arrive from Hawaii in time to compete.
Slater spent the first few days of the competition testing out a new wave pool ‘The Lineup’ at Wai Kai when he was expected to land in Australia for the WSL event.
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