Rip Curl Pro: American Courtney Conlogue takes women's title at Bells Beach
Softly spoken Ryan Callinan from Newcastle is now the top ranked Australian surfer in the world after shocking his way to the semi-finals of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.
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At the start of the month ago Ryan Callinan’s was not a name on the list of Australian surfers expected to roar ahead of the sports debut at next year’s Olympic Games.
Enormously talented, he seemed too nice, too polite, too sweet, too anything but ferocious and confident enough to be scaring some of the biggest names on the world tour.
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Closing in on the end of the month the softly spoken surfer from Newcastle is now the top ranked Australian surfer in the world after shocking his way to the semi-finals of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.
“I’m over the moon, this is so good,” said Callinan, 26, who beat 11-time world surf champion Kelly Slater first up Saturday before falling in the dying stages of his semi-final matchup to Brazilian Filipe Toledo.
“This is so special, so nice after falling off the world tour.
“I’ve been working so hard in the off-season and I feel great.
“I’ve just been enjoying every second of my time out there.”
It was Callinan’s first semi-final appearance at Bells after a string of poor results saw him crash off the world tour in 2016 following a rocky year which started with the death of his father Garry from leukaemia.
“I’m just so happy to be back now,” said Callinan, whose jersey number 57 is in honour of the year his father was born.
“The year my father passed away, the first year I was on tour, I now realise I wasn’t ready for it.
“The next year I was surfing better again and then my mum (Janice) passed away really unexpectedly halfway through the year.
“I had to take time off, I realised I was just going through the motions. I needed time to grieve.”
Ryan said the knowledge his father and mother were his No.1 surfing fans and loved his passion for the sport helped him fight his way back onto the tour for 2019.
“They loved the fact that I surfed. My dad surfed every day,” said Callinan, now the top ranked Australia in the men’s world rankings in ninth place.
“Someone told me I was the highest ranked Australia. I couldn’t believe it.
“It just can’t wait to get to the next round in Bali. It’s the funnest wave.”
Hawaiian John John Florence on Saturday beat Brazilian Toledo for the men’s title at Bells Beach with American Courtney Conlogue claiming a third women’s crown with her defeat of Hawaiian Malia Manuel.
Florence, who won 14.30 to 13.98 to claim the No.1 ranking, spent most of last year sidelined with a knee injury but is a renown big wave surfer and relished the pumping swell in the Bells Bowl.
Californian teenager Caroline Marks retains the No.1 ranking on the women’s world tour ahead of Manuel and Conlogue.
Stephanie Gilmore is the top Australian in fifth place.
Originally published as Rip Curl Pro: American Courtney Conlogue takes women's title at Bells Beach
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