Stephanie Gilmore has entered the pantheon of surfing greats after winning her seventh world title to equal fellow Australian Layne Beachley’s all-time women’s record.
Gilmore was confirmed as world champion at the season-ending Maui Pro when her only challenger, the American Lakey Peterson, failed to progress past the early stages of the event.
Peterson cracked under the pressure of getting within touching distance of her first world title, going down to Alana Blanchard in the second round in Hawaii as Gilmore watched on.
“When Steph commits her mind to a task it takes something monumental to stop her,” Beachley said on Twitter. “I congratulate Lakey for putting up a terrific fight while demonstrating the courage and conviction to achieve greatness. 2018 was Steph’s year, she is just too good.
“Seven world title wins establishes her as one of the greatest athletes of all time! No one deserves it more than Steph and I am extremely proud of her.”
It marks the first time Gilmore has been world champion since 2014. She won her maiden title as a rookie on the tour in 2007 before adding a further three in the following three years. A fifth arrived in 2012.
“It’s an honour to sit alongside you, Layne,” Gilmore said. “You’ve been a huge inspiration for my entire career and for so many female surfers all round the world. To equal you is amazing. What an honour.”
Beachley won the last of her seven titles at the age of 34 in 2006 – the year before Gilmore made her astonishing world tour debut.
Gilmore, at 30, is likely to surpass Beachley’s tally in the coming years but matching Kelly Slater’s men’s record of 11 world titles is not something on her radar just yet.
“I hate that question,” she said, about whether she could get near the American’s record. “I’m just going to lap up seven. But this is so, so cool.”
Peterson cut a dejected figure after her heat but the 24-year-old promised she would be back next year having learnt much from this year’s experience.
“Congrats to Steph,” Peterson said. “No one is more deserving. It hurts but it’s been a fun year. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.
“I’m not done. It’s been a great year. I’ve broken down a lot if mental barriers and proved I can be in this position.
“Every girl on this tour is so good and works so hard. There’s no slacking. I know my weaknesses so I can go and work on those things.”
Gilmore’s historic achievement comes after a dominant season, during which she won three events – the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, the Oi Rio Pro in Brazil and the J-Bay Open in South Africa.
The Queenslander will now look to end the season with a fourth victory, having secured safe passage through to the quarter-finals.
