Already considered the best female performance surfer of all time, Steph Gilmore added another sizeable achievement to her already-stellar career when she sealed up her seventh world title today in the Maui Pro at Maui’s Honolua Bay.
Gilmore battled neck and neck with Lakey Peterson all year as Peterson put together her best professional campaign to date. But Gilmore needed only to finish third or better to win it all (she won her Round 1 heat). Or have Peterson bow out early. Which is exactly what happened when wildcard Alana Blanchard took a break from motherhood to knock the Santa Barbara, California-native out of the event in the second round, ending her title hunt.
Gilmore–who’s won 29 events, the most all-time–certainly understood the gravitas of the moment, even though it came earlier than she thought. “I wasn’t expecting this right now,” said Glimore. “Alana just went to town. I was feeling nervous for Lakey. I want to thank all of the locals in Honolulu here for letting us surf this wave ourselves. My shaper, Darren Handley. I want to thank Dirk and Natasha and everything they do for us. Layne, it’s an honor to sit alongside you. You’ve been a huge inspiration my entire career.”
Gilmore wasn’t ready to talk about number eight, which was the obvious question on everyone’s mind. “I’m just going to lap up seven,” she said.
