Fiona Wylde wins the 2019 Sunset Beach Pro Presented by Local Motion in a tightly contested final in solid surf.
Fiona Wylde wins the 2019 Sunset Beach Pro, Presented by Local Motion in a tightly contested final that saw the top 4 women throw everything at it in the sizable and challenging surf to take the win. With a mix of NE wind swell and a new pulse of solid NW swell, the athletes were faced with tricky wind conditions, but met the challenge with impressive performances across the board. The Final 4 were as follows:
Fiona Wylde (USA)
Izzi Gomez (Columbia)
Shakira Westdorp (Australia)
Aline Adisaka (Brazil)
For full results, CLICK HERE
Check out the highlights:
Check out full replays from Day 1& 2 by going to APP TV and below, please see a full recap from the day's action. In the meantime, next call will be at 7:00am Tuesday February 19, 2019 for the remainder of the Men's competition. Click here to view.
Sunset Beach, Oahu: 17th February 2019: After a dramatic and challenging day of competition, Fiona Wylde has been crowned Sunset Beach Pro Champion for 2019. In the lead up to the event, Fiona was looking quietly confidant and self assured in the tricky line-up at Sunset Beach, rapidly gaining respect amongst the local community for her approach, positioning and bravado at this powerful North Shore break.
This carried on through the event itself, as Fiona calmly worked her way through the rounds to make the final, and put on a performance to remember, picking off the best waves of the heat and surfing them with speed, power and flow.
After two consecutive years of finishing second to multiple times World Champion Izzi Gomez here in Hawaii (firstly at Turtle Bay and then at Sunset Beach in 2017), Fiona was able to prove that third time was the charm this year at the sunset Beach Pro presented by Local Motion.
You can check out the highlights, updated heat draws and much more from a full day of competition by CLICKING HERE and @appworldtour
Make sure to stay tuned for the next call on Tuesday morning (19th February at 7am HST - no competition allowed on President's Day, 18th February) and watch all the action go down LIVE at www.appworldtour.com and across social media @appworldtour
While Izzi Gomez has become used to being on the top of the Leaderboard, with multiple World Titles to her name, 2nd place is still an incredible achievement for this young talent from Columbia when you consider the caliber of competition here on the APP World Tour these days, as Izzi contimnues to re-define the boundaries of performance SUP Surfing.
Posting some of the highest single scores of the day, coming into the Final, Izzi was certainly the one to watch out for, especially given that she had won here at the last edition of the Sunset Beach Pro back in 2017.
She put on a solid performance through the final and put it all on the line for victory, but came in just shy of the score she needed to take the win, having to settle for 2nd.
The scene has been set for an incredible year ahead for the Women on the APP World Tour, as the most competitive field yet has assembled to open the year in style and set the tone for the events to come. With New York and Barbados to follow in September and November respectively, and then Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to close out the year in December, it is going to be the most exciting year yet for Women's SUP Surfing.
Check out the highlights from today's action by CLICKING HERE, as well as galleries, notes and much more @appworldtour
Shakira rarely backs down and never walks away from a challenge, and today was a testament to this, with a courageous performance from start to finish that saw her secure 3rd place in an incredibly competitive final.
On her backhand at Sunset, Shakira continued to attack the line up as if it were 2ft, and pulled into a thick barrel in the bowl that brought the crowd to their feet in the closing stages of the Final.
Shakira is without doubt one of the most talented and capable surfers on Tour, and is a true Title Contender: with just 1 from 4 events now complete, and a 3rd place in her scorecard, Shakira Westdorp will be one to watch out for as we progress through the season.
Check out the highlights from today's action and stay tuned for the next call for the Men's competition at 7am on Tuesday 19th February at www.appworldtour.com & follow @appworldtour
Aline Adisaka is one of the most friendly characters on Tour. However, do not let her smile deceive you - she is a fierce competitor, and that showed today at Sunset Beach, as she fought her way back from behind in her semi final heat to edge ahead of an on form Vania Torres to earn her well deserved place in the prestigious Women's Final.
Aline's surfing is looking confidant this year, and her wave lecture sharper than ever: as a result she will be another character to keep an eye on as we progress through the 2019 season as the Title Race heats up after stop 1 of the APP World Tour.
Check out the highlights from today's action by CLICKING HERE, and relive the day's action by checking out the full LIVE broadcast replay at APP TV
Full Results:
1) Fiona Wylde (USA)
2) Izzi Gomez (Columbia)
3) Shakira Westdorp (Australia)
4) Aline Adisaka (Brazil)
5) Lara Claydon (Hawaii) /Annie Reickert (Hawaii)
7) Hannah Finley-Jones (Australia) / Nicole Pacelli (Brazil)
9) Dominique Miller (Hawaii) / Vania Olivieri Torres (Peru)
11) Iballa Moreno (Spain)
It was non stop action in the Men's Division as we saw some incredible performances across the board as we caught our first glimpse of the seeded Top 24 athletes in action in some more solid surf at Sunset Beach.
Stand outs from today's action included Poenaiki Raioha from Tahiti, who continues to shine after his groundbreaking win in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria back in December. However, Wellington Reis' (Brazil) backhand surfing out at Sunset is looking deadly, and James Casey's powerful approach to Sunset did not go unnoticed.
Also standing out were the two Hawaii athletes Zane Schweitzer from Maui and Mo Freitas from Haleiwa, here on the North Shore of Oahu, as they matched power with power out at Sunset and demonstrated that they were both clearly in their comfort zone in the larger surf.
It was great to see Justin Holland back in action and putting on a solid performance in his Round 3 victory, while 2 times Sunset Beach Pro Champion from Brazil, Caio Vaz put on an impressive performance to take victory in his Round 3 heat.
The final real stand out in this round was Keahi de Aboitiz from Australia, who put on a masterclass of his relaxed, yet radical approach to surfing Sunset, and is definitely someone to watch out for as we come into the Final day of competition as early as this Tuesday.
The next call will be at 7am on Tuesday morning the 19th February so stay tuned as we make the call on the final day of competition for the 2019 Sunset Beach Pro presented by Local Motion at www.appworldtour.com and @appworldtour
The final division to be contested today was the U16 youth division, as the sport's future stepped up to do battle in full size surf at Sunset Beach. Of note, 9 year old Bobo Gallagher took on waves that were somewhere in the region of quadruple overhead for him, and put on a valiant performance in these challenging conditions, clearly catching the world's attention.
However, much like the first day of competition, it was Puerto Rico's Maximilian Torres who stole the limelight and claimed victory in the U16 division with another high performance show out at Sunset Beach. Of note, he is still in the draw, now in Round 4 of the Main Event as he continues to make a name for himself here at the Opening stop of the 2019 APP World Tour.
Daniel Cesar Ferlin from Brazil, Youth Champion from 2018 once again showed great form, finishing in 2nd place, while Zane Saenz from right here on Oahu finished in 3rd with a spirited performance. Zane was followed by the next Freitas talent to come through the ranks, Marvin, and after Marvin, the young Bobo in 5th.
Check out the highlights, pictures, updated draws and much more from today's competition and stay tuned for the Tuesday morning call at 7am HST as well as all the action LIVE at www.appworldtour.com and @appworldtour