The lululemon Maui Pro the final stop on the World Surf League Women’s Championship got underway today with major world title contenders in the lineup setting the stage for a finals day showdown tomorrow.
For the second year in a row, Lakey Peterson fell just short of the World Tittle with an early elimination in Maui. This time Peterson’s Title offence and Olympic dreams were cut short by Tyler Wright, who returned to competition at this event after 17 months out due to illness. The heat was close with Peterson just losing out by only 1.07 with a 9th place finish.
“That was a rough blow, but that is the way it goes,” said Peterson. “Super stoked Tyler is back, to be honest, as weird as that sounds. I know she has been through a very long road so she deserves it. Great job to Carissa and Caroline. They’ve had incredible an incredible year so whatever happens with them will be exciting.”
“I definitely made errors and so I think I will go back and look at that and try to learn for next year,” Peterson continued. “I guess to be World Champ you can’t really make those mistakes so in my mind then I didn’t deserve it. I prepared as well as I possibly could so at least I took that off the list and didn’t have any doubts in my mind with boards or equipment or preparation. I really did my best there. I think there is a lot to learn for me and hopefully, it will just make me better and one day I will walk up this cliff happy.”
The dramatic elimination of Lakey Peterson now sets a showdown between veteran two time World Champion Carissa Moore and the ultimate rookie and youngest contender on tour Caroline Marks on finals day tomorrow.
