Day 1 of the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach saw the type of waves we like to see in competition–pumping and presenting sections for the ‘CTers to lay down jaw-dropping maneuvers.
With solid waves on tap for the opening rounds, event standouts flexed their heat/wave knowledge and used the conditions to their advantage. Past world champs Carissa Moore, John Florence, Kelly Slater, Filipe Toledo and Steph Gilmore breezed through their rounds and face another day of competition.
“I’m lucky on my forehand, and I can draw some really nice, long lines,” Gilmore told the WSL. “I’m on a 6’5” (board), so it’s probably bigger than what most of the girls are riding, and it feels good. To be honest, I was thinking I had such a poor performance here last year, so I feel like I’m just going out to try and redeem myself. You’re only as good as your last performance out here, so I just wanted to improve. Scraping into the Final 5 is probably not the smartest idea, so you have to be on the gas all the way from the start.”
Watch above for a recap of the day’s events from the WSL desk and stay tuned for Day 2 of competition.
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