And more thoughts from the most well-written about
day in professional surfing's history!
In the opening rounds of Bells, I chose Carissa
Moore as the favorite to win. I am bad at predictions, and this one
proved no better than any other I’ve ever made.
The ocean turned on and as it often does, scrambled the board.
Somehow, I’d forgotten that Courtney Conologue had won twice
previously at Bells. I should read those screen graphics once in a
while, maybe. And you call yourself a surf writer, they’ll be
saying. What are you even doing, they’ll be saying.
On the day of the 50 Year Storm™ Courtney came out firing. I’d
agree with LT that the judges were overly exuberant in scoring her
first waves, but after the tentative turns from Lakey Peterson and
Coco Ho in the previous round, Courtney looked impressive and
committed. Lakey squeaked by Coco mostly on determination. When a
wave didn’t work, she tried again. And again. No need for a secret
turn, that competitive, die-trying mentality is Lakey’s
superpower.
With Courtney on fire, Carissa looked slow to start. It’s as
though she found the waves she wanted too late in the heat to
matter. After a dominant performance in the opening heat, that had
to have stung for Carissa. And she said later on the socials, that
she was frustrated with how the heat went for her — and
understandably. Carissa’s quarterfinal exit dropped her from second
to fourth in the rankings.
Against Malia, Steph Gilmore looked lost. When Steph loses
heats, it often goes exactly this way. She stares at the horizon as
though she’s never seen the ocean before. It’s strange to watch
someone as experienced as she is fail to read the lineup. Malia,
meanwhile, was one of the last to come in from the pre-contest
warm-up session and she looked confident and controlled in the
storm-fucked chaos. Where Courtney’s turns oozed aggression, Malia
glided through the wreckage. And it was good enough to send the
seven-time champ home.
The heat between Caroline Marks and Brisa Hennessey proved
closer than I expected. Surely, Caroline would win this one with
ease. Not so fast. In fact, Brisa came damn close and needed only a
two to advance. The bigger surf, meanwhile, smoothed out Caroline’s
style. Her performance at Bells put to rest any questions about her
ability to compete in bigger waves and suggested. It was surely a
relief to Caroline when Brisa failed to find that last wave she
needed.
It was heartbreaking to watch Lakey try to surf injured in her
semi against Courtney. The conditions suited her to perfection and
the heat promised fireworks. Instead, Lakey gingerly attempted a
few turns, but it was clearly too painful to surf. Sending good
vibes her way on that front. Courtney rode a couple good ones and
called it done, no doubt saving some fire for the final.
Somehow, Malia looked more nervous in the clean conditions in
her semi with Caroline than she had in the previous day’s victory
at sea lineup. But I doubt anyone in the women’s draw will feel
entirely at ease surfing a semi against Caroline Marks at this
point. She’s clearly a giant slayer. Surfing against her idols,
knocking them down one by one, like it’s no big thing.
This time around, Caroline never really found the waves she
needed for a solid score. Malia threaded together a couple long
rides to advance and smartly used her priority to keep Caroline off
the sets as the clock ticked away.
The waves were gorgeous for the women’s final. Malia took an
early lead with long, beautiful lines. After not much more than ten
minutes, Courtney needed a nine. Malia looked to have it well in
hand, but a fall on her third wave left the door open a crack.
And that’s all Courtney needed. She used her priority to grab a
set wave and surfed the fuck out of it. Was it an actual ten? I
have a hard time arguing that it wasn’t. After that, Malia needed a
high seven to win and could only come up with a pair of three’s.
That’s three wins for Bells for Courtney — maybe I can remember
that number this time next year.
American women now crowd the top of the rankings — and the US
Olympic team race looks spicy. Caroline still leads. Malia sits
second with event winner Courtney right behind her. Three-time
World Champion Carissa is fourth, which she’ll certainly want to
better. Lakey is sixth in the world, and fifth among the Americans.
Only two of them can surf Tokyo. It’s far too early to figure this
thing out, but we definitely have an entertaining battle on our
hands for those top two slots.
Next up is Bali, which could help Caroline tighten her hold on
the lead. But after guessing mostly wrong at Bells, I’m definitely
out of the prediction business. After a slow start, Bells sure
turned out to be a show.
