Robinson conquers all but Gilmore loses her world crown and Olympic tracksuit
Jack Robinson made Australia’s Olympic team and the WSL Finals on a dramatic final day of the World Surf League in Tahiti. The legendary Steph Gilmore wasn’t so lucky.
Teahupo’o translates to “sever the head,” or “place of skulls,” or “end of the road,” depending on whom you ask in the village. It was the latter for Steph Gilmore when a dramatic final day of the World Surf League’s regular season shut down the chances of Australia’s most balletic boardrider retaining her world title or making the team for the Paris Olympics.
West Australian Jack Robinson was cockahoop after running the gauntlet to win the Tahiti Pro and receive a double dollop of rewards. He snuck into fifth spot on the WSL rankings, ensuring his place in next month’s one-day, winner-take-all shootout in California for the world title.
And he earned a shiny new green-and-gold tracksuit alongside Ethan Ewing, Tyler Wright and Molly Picklum as Australia’s Olympic representatives.
READ MORE:Jack Robinson: Meet the new king of Australian surfing
Robinson led the world rankings before the Bell Beach contest at Easter. A knee injury looked to have scuppered his season. His last roll of the dice was Teahupo’o, the idyllic and dangerous wave in French Polynesia that will host Olympic surfing. He finished the event as stoked as Gilmore was saddened: the eight-time world champion lost a must-win heat against American Caroline Marks to finish in the loneliest place on the rankings. Sixth.
“I was so in ‘it’ coming into this event. So focused,” Robinson said after beating Brazil’s Gabriel Medina in the final. “But I was still enjoying myself. It’s so hard to describe the feeling. I don’t know what ‘it’ is but I feel like ‘it’ was meant to be. I just never stopped. When ‘it’ was down through the year I pulled ‘it’ back up and with the help of the people around me, who know who they are – it’s a small crew but it has a lot of ‘mana,’ like this place. I felt like it was my time.’
Mana is good energy. Ewing needs some to contest the WSL Finals from September 8. He has a broken back and might not recover. Robinson added: “You never know when it’s your time, but I felt like I envisaged it was my time now and I’m so happy. After starting this year the way I did, then dropping off, then coming back and all of that stuff, I feel like this was my time.
“I always said that the finals would be my last event for the year and I can’t wait for it.”
Ewing finished third in the world; Robinson fifth. Wright came second; Picklum fourth.
“To have the dangling carrot along the road to come back here and figure out such a scary line-up excites me,” the 20-year-old said on returning to Teahupo’o for the Olympics. “To do your country proud and wear your country on the jersey will make me probably go the bigger waves and go harder and make better decisions – which means I get cooler moments for myself as well. It’s a whole other journey in itself and I’m really willing to take it on.”
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