Resurgent Australian surfing star Tyler Wright created history and ended a three-year winning drought with victory in the Roxy Pro in Hawaii a week after it was moved because of a fatal shark attack.
The event was move to the iconic Banzai Pipeline, the first ever women’s event there after being moved from Oahu when a local surfer was attacked just hours before the semi-finals were set to begin last week.
Back in the water at the famous spot Wright took down fellow Aussie Sally Fitzgibbons in the semi-final before accounting for four-time world champion Carissa Moore in the final.
For two-time world champion Wright, it was her first win since 2017 after a long battle with illness and chronic fatigue syndrome wrecked her 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
She scored a two-wave total of 10.50 to easily defeat Fitzgibbons, who could only score 2.87 in the heat.
Wright, 27, the picked up a narrow win over Moore
“It‘s a real equaliser out there now because it’s the first for the girls to be out there right now … it’s such an incredible moment in time,” Wright said.
