GrindTV News -- BELLS BEACH, Victoria/Australia (Saturday, April 3, 2010) - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 22, reigning three-time ASP Women's World Champion, has claimed the 2010 Rip Curl Women's Pro presented by Ford Fiesta over opponent Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26, in a hard-fought Final.

Event No. 2 on the 2010 ASP Women's World Tour, the Rip Curl Women's Pro came to a dramatic close today, with the unstoppable, young Australian collecting her third Bells Title in four attempts.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed by this," Gilmore said. "To ring the bell once is an amazing feeling, but three times? I don't think the gravity of it has sunk in yet. It's an incredible event and I feel very fortunate to have achieved such success here so far."

While not necessarily a standout in the earlier rounds, Gilmore appeared to bide her time at the Rip Curl Women's Pro, peaking on the final day of competition with some incendiary performances.

"I wasn't in a hurry," Gilmore said. "It's probably not the most exciting frame of mind for the spectators, but I know that it doesn't totally count until the Final, so that was my game plan and I guess it kind of worked for me. It's what I've used for a lot of events and it seems to work."

Having collected two wins from two events in 2010, Gilmore now has a commanding lead as she hunts down a fourth ASP Women's World Title.

"Two for two is definitely an unexpected start of the year but I guess when you're not really expecting too much that's when it all just comes your way," Gilmore said. "Winning the World Title is such an incredible feeling - it's quite rare so while I can, I just might as well keep winning. But it does take a lot of energy - it really draws a lot of energy out of you. When you come to the end of the year, everybody wants a piece of your time and it can be quite intense, but it's something that I enjoy. I think that's why I just kind of cruise throughout the year and then at the end of the year, I want that big climax."

Sofia Mulanovich (PER), 26, former ASP Women's World Champion (2004), surfed exceptionally well throughout the day despite suffering from a neck injury in yesterday's Round 3. The fleet-footed Peruvian's Runner-Up finish is good enough to vault her to ASP Women's World No. 2 heading into the third event of the year.

"I'm not at my 100% but I'm just stoked to make it to the Finals," Mulanovich said. "That's why I really want to go get treated before my Final. Hopefully it feels better before the next event."

Chelsea Hedges (AUS), 26, former ASP Women's World Champion (2005), looked the form surfer of the event, until falling to eventual Runner-Up Mulanovich in the Semifinals.

"I'm disappointed," Hedges said. "Heats don't get much closer than that. I felt like I was on a roll after Margaret's and it's disappointing to feel good here and lose a heat like that. That said, I'll just try to shake it off and concentrate on New Zealand.

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 19, into her second year on the ASP Women's World Tour, defeated an in-form Coco Ho (HAW), 18, this morning before falling to eventual winner Gilmore in the Semifinals.

"Equal 3rd is a good result but it's still very frustrating to go down to Steph (Gilmore) again," Fitzgibbons said. "I'm just going to take it as a learning experience and look forward to the next one. It's great to have events back to back this season and I'm excited for New Zealand."

Highlights from the Rip Curl Women's Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Fiesta will be available via www.live.ripcurl.com

The next stop on the 2010 ASP Women's World Tour will be the TSB Bank Women's Surf Festival in Taranaki, New Zealand from April 11 - 16, 2010.

The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach will be televised LIVE in Australia on FUEL TV. For more information, check out http://www.foxsports.com.au/fueltv

(Above photos courtesy of ASP Intl.)

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

RIP CURL WOMEN'S PRO BELLS BEACH FINAL RESULTS:
1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.67
2 - Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 10.00

RIP CURL WOMEN'S PRO BELLS BEACH SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.50 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 10.67
SF 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 10.50 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 10.50

RIP CURL WOMEN'S PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.50 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 3.34
QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 17.34 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 4.56
QF 3: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 9.33 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 4.83
QF 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.93 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 7.67

ASP WOMEN'S WORLD TOP 5 (After Event No. 2):
1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 2400 points
3 - Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 1524 points
3 - Melanie Bartels (HAW) 1524 points
5 - Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 1308 points
5 - Coco Ho (HAW) 1308 points

While the Eddie was going and Jaws was munching guys on wave skis up during this past swell, the ASP Women's Tour was scoring some of the best waves ever seen at the Billabong Pro over on Maui. Conditions were flawless on at Honolua Bay during day one of their competition, as this video shows.


After clinching her third ASP World Title in a row at the Gidget Pro at Sunset a week earlier, Steph Gilmore celebrated by taking her third straight Billabong Pro on Maui, this time defeating Peru's Sofia Mulanovich in the final. Her latest win also earned her the Vans Triple Crown Title.

"Once again, Maui has just been incredible and to win this event three times in a row is just awesome," Gilmore said. "I couldn't have been happier with the way things have gone today. Winning the Vans Triple Crown is definitely up there with winning the World Title and it's definitely one of the biggest accolades of surfing professionally. I can't believe it's all happening again, it's awesome."

Gilmore absolutely dominated the day's proceedings, blitzing the highest heat total of the entire 2009 ASP Women's World Tour season by surfing a near-perfect heat of 19.67 out of 20 to usurp Samantha Cornish (AUS), 29, in her Quarterfinals heat before topping Fitzgibbons and Mulanovich en route to her second ASP Women's World Tour win of 2009.

While Gilmore has been the dominant force for the past three years on the tour, the road ahead does look tougher in 2010. The ASP women's tour is about to be injected with another youth movement next year, as a new generation of stars graduates to the big stage.

Both Coco Ho and Lee Ann Curren are second generation tour stars. Ho's father Michael was a fixture on the tour through the 70s and 80s, and was making finals at Sunset Beach into his mid 40s. Curren's father Tom was the three time world champion. Both will be joined next year by Carissa Moore, who many expect will make an instant push toward the top.


Billabong Pro Maui presented by Hawaiian Airlines Final:

1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 18.00

2 - Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 10.17


SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.03 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.94

SF 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.83 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.70


QF 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.83 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 15.83

QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 19.67 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 7.26

QF 3: Silvana Lima 16.70 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 7.20

QF 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.77 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 6.50


Final 2009 ASP Women's World Tour ratings

1. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)

2. Silvana Lima (BRA)

3. Sofia Mulanovich (PER)

4. Coco Ho (HAW)

5. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)

6. Melanie Bartels (HAW)

7. Chelsea Hedges (AUS)

8. Paige Hareb (NZL)

9. Rebecca Woods (AUS)

10. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)

11. Samantha Cornish (AUS)

12. Jacqueline Silva (BRA)

13. Alana Blanchard (HAW)

14. Bruna Schmitz (BRA)

15. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)

16. Amee Donohoe (AUS)

17. Megan Abubo (HAW)

Editors Note: Dear & Yonder directors Tiffany Campbell and Andrea Lessler were awarded the Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year Award at this year's Surfer Poll gala last week. We hope that very worthy honor will convince you to go check this film out. When you do I think you'll fall pretty hard for Lizzy Clark, one of today's most hardcore adventurist. In fact, you can read a lot more about Clark in the current issue of Surfer Magazine. We'll take this moment to congratulate Campbell and Lessler on a job well done. The text below is my reaction to the film after a screening in July. -- PG

When I was a grom, I had wonderful dreams about Paradise Island, which is not be confused with Fantasy Island, y'know, where Ricardo Montalban (RIP) and that little Tatoo guy (RIP) who used to always be searching for planes circling overhead. Anyway, Paradise Island is where Wonder Woman comes from. And well, as far as I was concerned back then, she was the hottest chick alive. Paradise Island is inhabited and ruled entirely by women. Incredible Amazon warrior women who were smart, beautiful, athletic, and yeah, really frickin' sexy. It was a lot for a 14-year old kid to handle. Go ahead, see for yourself.


Thing is, I'm pretty sure Paradise Island actually exist out there somewhere, and not just in the form of some Vegas strip club. When I saw a preview of the new chick flick, Dear and Yonder, which stars some of the hottest female surfers in the world, including Sofia Mulanovich, Stephanie Gilmore, Coco Ho, Kassia Meadore, Malia Manuel and the queen of wanderlust, Lizzy Clark, my faith in that belief was restored.

That this movie even exists is a bit of a dream come true for that kid in me. Packs of talented girls having fun together in bikinis while demonstrating their talent in perfect surf? Really, what's not to love? Yes, the whole thing is eye-candy, it's beautifully shot by Thomas and Tiffany Campbell, Sonny Miller, Dave Homcy and Scott Soens, and then put together nicely by Tiffany and Andria Lessler, utilizing some compelling hooks, from odes to the pioneers of women's surfing to modern day world champs, groovy artists, and exotic adventurist like Elizabeth "Lizzy" Clark, who has been sailing across the Pacific for the past couple of years in her 40' boat searching for waves. She will flat-out steal your heart in this film, and you'll wish you could jump on board with her.



Granted, it's a chick flick, but any theater showing this film stands a good chance of becoming its own little Paradise Island. And these aren't your average girls. These are Wonder Women. Do what you have to to get there.