There have been a lot of changes in her life recently and it’s been a while now since Bethany Hamilton first became a household name. On Friday, Kauai’s soul surfer was reconnecting with her roots at one of the world’s
There have been a lot of changes in her life recently and it’s been a while now since Bethany Hamilton first became a household name. On Friday, Kauai’s soul surfer was reconnecting with her roots at one of the world’s most famous and fearsome waves.
After a long waiting period that pushed the action all the way to the event’s final day, the Surf n Sea Women’s Pipeline Pro finally got moving Friday on Oahu. Though she hadn’t won an Association of Surfing Professionals contest since 2005 and her last major result was about five year ago, Hamilton was far away the form surfer of the day. Through the three rounds of competition, she had six of the seven highest scoring waves of the event.
As a 1-Star ASP Qualification Series event, the Women’s Pipeline Pro doesn’t carry with it a big prize purse or huge points in terms of world ranking, but the prestige of the contest is its most valuable cache. Three years ago, it was Princeville’s Tatiana Weston-Webb who came away with the same crown and her island compatriot has now followed it up in style.
As one of the first surfers in the water, Hamilton made it out of her opening heat with ease. She and Oahu’s Moana Jones plucked all the best waves, which would be a common occurrence all day. Hamilton tucked into a small left and ended up getting barrelled, a ride she would later call a “pleasant surprise” on a day when the waves weren’t near perfect Pipe. The 8.25 she received from the judges would hold up as the best wave score of the day and Hamilton also came away with the Banzai Sushi best tube ride award for the event.
Kauai’s Brianna Cope put on a good show to win the third heat of the opening round, out-dueling last year’s Pipeline Pro champion Dax McGill, though both advanced into the semfinal round. Cope notched a 6.50 score to take the lead and backed it up later with a 6.15 to easily advance with a 12.65 heat total, the best of the day for anyone other than Hamilton.
In the semifinals, Hamilton started quickly again, putting up a 7.00 on her first ride to put the pressure on her three competitors. It would again be Jones who advanced in second place to secure a spot in the final, holding off Maui’s Lipoa Kahaleuahi who trailed closely behind in third.
Japan’s Sayuri Hashimoto was the surprise in the second semifinal as she picked up the pace late and notched her two best scores on her two final rides in an extremely tight heat. It was enough to grab first and advance along with McGill, while Cope was the unlucky elimination for an Equal 5th finish. Those top three were separated by just 0.50 points.
Sunset Beach’s Jones, still just a teenager, tried her best to wrestle the title away in the final, but it was simply Hamilton’s day. She snapped off some ferocious turns and notched the heat’s two best scores for the day’s biggest total of 15.00 points. Jones put in a valiant effort and was the clear runner-up (12.10), while Hashimoto (6.20) took third and McGill (5.60) finished fourth.
She said after the final that she rarely wins, but Hamilton’s domination Friday seemed anything but flukey. Congratulations, Bethany!
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