Caroline Marks signature surfing has today earned her the biggest win of her career,
17-year-old Marks had Gilmore under pressure, requiring a near-perfect 9.16 (out of a possible 10) after she posted a 16.33 (out of a possible 20) heat total. Marks kept improving her lead with a third excellent ride to seal the deal and start her 2019 campaign with a guaranteed third-place finish.
“I’ve looked up to Steph (Gilmore) since I started surfing,” said Marks. “It’s incredible to get to surf against her and I’m super humbled to win that because she’s one of the best surfers in the world. I definitely wanted to win that heat and I’m feeling really fired up. I even claimed a couple of waves and I never do that [laughs]. I was going to move down the beach and try a couple of airs, but Steph’s just so good and I didn’t want to leave her on a perfect right to herself because she can easily get a nine.”
“That was really tough,” Gilmore said. “A Quarterfinal finish is still a good result, but it’s just made me hungrier. That hurt a lot, but it also reminded me how much I love doing this and how much I want to win. Caroline (Marks) has always had that fire but she’s piecing it together in heats now and shaking things up.”
7X World Champion Stephanie Gilmore of Australia is eliminated from the 2019 Boost Mobile Pro Gold Coast with an equal 5th finish after placing second in Quarter Final Heat 1 at Duranbah Beach on April 6, 2019 in Queensland, Australia.
