After an amazing Finals day at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, two of the world’s finest hoisted the coveted trophy. Carissa Moore and Mick Fanning won the iconic event.
The day started early, with the women’s contest at Bells Bowl. After sending Sally Fitzgibbons packing in the semis, Carissa Moore moved into her final heat against Tyler Wright. In pumping surf, both women showed incredible drive and skill. Moore, despite having surfed in every round of the competition, was able to impress the judges enough to ring the bell at the end of the day.
“I’m speechless right now,” she said in a press release. “That was an amazing final! We were having such a blast; I just wanted to talk to Tyler (Wright) because the waves were so fun and it felt like we were having a fun free surf. I know she’s such an amazing surfer and will be in ASP World Title contention at the end of the year, so I knew I had to be at my best. It’s been a long Australian leg with three events in a row and it couldn’t have been much better for me, two wins and a quarterfinal and to finish by winning at Bells is so unique and special.”
After the women were finished, the men took to the water. The stage was moved from Bells Bowl to Winkipop, where the Men’s Semifinals and Finals were held in nearly perfect conditions.
After taking out Owen Wright and Julian Wilson in the Quaterfinals and Finals respectively, Fanning went on to his final heat against Taj Burrow. After one early, low scoring wave by Burrow, Fanning pulled down an 8.83 with a series of powerful carves. Burrow managed to answer with a 9.63, but after selling Fanning on a wave, he was out of position for a set wave that could have opened the door to a win. Both surfers made priority mistakes, but Fanning was able to capitalize more on his opponent’s.
“After that result (13th) in Margaret River I went home and worked really hard and I’m so pleased that the hard work paid off. Congratulations to Taj (Burrow), I’ve never been so nervous for nine minutes of my life, he surfed amazingly,” said Mick Fanning in a press release. “We got to surf everywhere at this event which was awesome, we got to surf the Bowl, Rincon and to finish at Winkipop. It’s always been my dream to surf a Heat at Winkipop. This is such a special event for me and I feel comfortable here. With the calibre of surfers on Tour at the moment there’s never an easy heat and it keeps it so exciting.”
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Final Results:
Final: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.83 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.46
Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Final Results:
Final: Carissa Moore (HAW) 16.23 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 15.77
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Semifinal Results:
Semifinal 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.43 def. John John Florence (HAW) 13.43
Semifinal 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.20 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.36
Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Semifinal Results:
Semifinal 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.10 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 10.53
Semifinal 2: Tyler Wright (AUS) 17.77 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.77
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Quarterfinal Results:
Quarterfinal 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.50 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.16
Quarterfinal 2: John John Florence (HAW) 13.13 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 11.10
Quarterfinal 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.53 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.34
Quarterfinal 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.16 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 11.37
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 5 Results:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.27 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.33
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.26 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 12.44
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.30 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.26
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.37 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 13.10
