When Australian Stephanie Gilmore decided to return to competitive surfing this year following a two year hiatus from the World Surf League, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Gilmore, 38, is the greatest female surfer of all-time, with eight WSL titles to her name. But in recent years women’s elite surfing has made transformational progress, in big barrels and in the air. Did Gilmore still have what it takes?

The first two events of the season only added fuel to that question. At Bells Beach, Gilmore was downed by rising Brazilian star Luana Silva, just 21, in their opening heat. Less than two weeks later, at Margaret River, Gilmore endured another first-round exit to women’s surfing prodigy Erin Brooks, only 18. As the Australian travelled to her home break on the Gold Coast for the third event of the season, observers dared to ask: if Gilmore went out early again, might she end her WSL comeback?

It turns out rumours of the demise of the greatest of all-time were premature.

As much was evident on Monday afternoon, as a sea of spectators filled the beach, and then the water, at Snapper Rocks. With pumping waves and a public holiday in Queensland, it was the perfect atmosphere for Gilmore to remind the next generation of female surfing that she is not done yet. After downing Silva in a thrilling final, Gilmore was mobbed in the water as an adoring public saluted the queen of surfing.

Leading the heat with eight minutes on the clock, holding twin seven point scores, Gilmore put an exclamation point on her victory. A big opening hack was followed up by two classy turns, before following it up with a statement lay-back manoeuvre. Water sprayed to the heavens. The judging panel duly awarded it a 9.5 – just half a point clear of a perfect score. There would be no stopping Stephanie Gilmore at Snapper.

The numbers spoke for themselves. It was Gilmore’s seventh win on the Gold Coast, and her 34th overall WSL event win (the most for a woman in surfing history), from 51 final appearances. Following more than half a century of finals appearances since Gilmore won her first event crown as a wildcard, still a teenager, two decades ago in 2005, the stylish natural footer was again on top.

“I really didn’t think I was going to win a comp this year,” Gilmore said following the win. “I’m trying to be positive, but I was also like – the girls are just at a whole new level. It’s epic, this is what I wanted, I wanted to push myself, I wanted to feel that feeling, like – can I do it?”

On Monday, the answer was empathic: yes she can. “That was unreal,” she added.

On the beach, Gilmore and Silva embraced. It was a poignant moment. The new guard of women’s surfing – including the likes of Silva, Brooks, 23-year-old Australian reigning world champion Molly Picklum and 20-year-old former world champion Caitlin Simmers – has taken the sport to the stratosphere. But they have done so on a path first blazed by the likes of Gilmore.

Inevitably, comparisons will be drawn with Kelly Slater, the greatest male surfer of all-time, who demonstrated peerless longevity to continue competing until recently, and won an event at Pipeline aged 50. Having won the third event of the current season, Gilmore is right back in the title race – she is now ranked seventh in the world. The tour will next travel to Raglan, New Zealand, in the weeks ahead.

The problem with being the queen is that someone is always coming for your throne. How Gilmore holds up in the events ahead, particularly the heavy water locations like Tahiti, Fiji and Hawaii, where women’s surfing has seen so much progression of late, remains to be seen. With 13 events on this year’s calendar, the title battle will be long and arduous. The generational tussle between Gilmore’s era and the new generation will continue.

Interviewed by the Guardian last year, about a potential return to the sport, the Australian veteran said she was would not return just to make up the numbers. “I’m not just going there to be another jersey,” she said. “So that’s the plan. I’ll see what happens. I think it would be cool to keep going, imagine getting to Kelly’s number [11 world titles]. That would be crazy.”

But in some ways, the comparison to Slater does Gilmore’s own remarkable record a disservice. The eight-time WSL champion is not the female Kelly Slater. She is a surfing legend in her own right. She is Stephanie Gilmore. And as the sun set on Snapper Rocks on Monday, and Gilmore was introduced to an adoring crowd, the beachside announcer made clear: “Your queen is officially back.”