Competing in her first WCT tournament, 17-year-old Gilmore showed her cool
mastery of the peeling Snapper break defeating Hawaii’s Megan Abubo in front
of a huge hometown crowd to complete a dream debut.

Gilmore, a Year 12 student at Kingscliff High south of the Gold Coast, won a
spot in the Roxy Pro after taking out the trials. She then proceeded to cut a swathe through the ranks of the world’s top
surfers, eliminating reigning world champion Sofia Mulanovich (Peru), World
No.9 Samantha Cornish (Aus) and six-time world champion Layne Beachley (Aus)
in succession.

“Holy cow ... my whole body’s just like jelly, I’m just so happy” said an
ecstatic Gilmore after she was chaired off the beach by fellow surfers amid
a mob of cheering fans. “Just to get the chance to surf against my heroes is an achievement in
itself and to beat them is just so overwhelming. “It’s just such a fairytale. I can’t believe it’s happening. I was just
dreaming about this all week and for it to come true is just so cool.”

Gilmore, the reigning Australian and Quiksilver U/18 ISA World Junior
champion, overcame a slow start in a wave-starved 35-minute final to defeat
Abubo, who narrowly re-qualified for this year’s WCT after a lackluster
early season campaign in 2004.

Abubo, 27, took the lead early with a 5.17-point ride and it was not until
the 22 minute mark that Gilmore surged to the front with a stunning 9.33
point ride that included radical lip snaps and not one, but two barrels.

The Hawaiian tried to fight back but lost priority with four minutes to go,
allowing the local girl to extend her lead. The clock became Abubo’s enemy and with time ticking away, she was unable to
find the 8.84 point wave needed to take the lead.

“The ocean worked in my favour and it sort of slowed up,” said Gilmore, who
was presented with her Roxy Pro trophy by fellow Kingscliff local, 1964
world champion Phyllis O’Donnell, as Abubo sprayed her with a magnum of
champagne. “I wasn’t expecting a nine again but I was just absolutely stoked.”

Gilmore pocketed a cool US$15,000 for the tournament - $US10,000 for winning
the Roxy Pro and a bonus US$5000 for the Evian Longest Tube Ride. She plans to put the biggest prize cheque of her short, but thus far
spectacular career towards a house. Gilmore is set to cause more carnage on the women’s WCT this year, having
been granted wildcards into three more events, including the SPC Pro at
Bells Beach later this month.

With Gilmore unseeded, Abubo’s defeat was tempered by the fact that she now
takes the lead in the 2005 women’s world title race. “Stephanie’s really been ripping this whole contest ...she’ll be a force to
be reckoned with, that’s for sure,” Abubo said of Gilmore. “I’m really happy because I’ve never even made it past the third round here.
I’m just stoked to make the final - it’s a good start to the year.”

In one of the most thrilling heats in women’s surfing history, Gilmore and
Beachley staged a semi-final tussle of titanic proportions that had the huge
crowd on their feet and cheering.

With just three minutes left on the clock, and needing a near-perfect
9.21-point ride to catch Beachley, Gilmore took off on a walling wave and
obliterated it with a series of critical carving turns before finishing with
a long barrel. The judges duly awarded her a 9.27, allowing her to continue her
giant-killing run which had already seen her eliminate reigning world
champion Sofia Mulanovich and world No.10 Samantha Cornish.

“I’m bitterly disappointed but man, that girl (Gilmore) has been on fire all
week,” said a shell-shocked Beachley. “You can never relax against her and I made that fatal mistake of taking off
on a wave with seven minutes to go when I had priority and that’s what lost
me the heat. “Steph’s scored close to two nines in every heat she’s surfed in and man,
that’s what it takes to beat that little rookie. She’s tough and she’s an
excellent competitor.”

In the other semi-final, Abubo pipped last year’s World No.3 Chelsea
Georgeson (AUS) by a mere 0.27 of a point. Georgeson, a Snapper Rocks local, needed a 5.6-pointer to win but could only
manage a 4.43 on her last wave.

Defending Roxy Pro champion Jacqueline Silva (Brazil) saw her title defense
hopes slip from her grasp in the first quarter-final against Beachley. With seconds to go and Beachley leading narrowly, Silva found a wave and
rode it to the beach, but fell an agonising 0.51 points short of overhauling
the Australian. “Always when you win a contest to want to defend it the next year,” said a
disappointed Silva. “I tried to defend my championship but the waves didn’t
come. Conditions are pretty good but I didn’t find any good waves in my
heat.”

Mulanovich received some compensation for her undisputable talent by
claiming the Boost Expression Session first place bonus prize of US$3,000
for negotiating yet another twisting Snapper Rocks barrel. Mulanovich out-classed the likes of Hawaiian Melanie Bartels, former
four-time world champion Lisa Andersen (USA), former world champion Pauline
Menczer (AUS) and local Trudy Todd in the exciting expression session held
as a curtain-raiser to today’s final.