Carissa Moore lost to Stephanie Gilmore in the final of the Roxy Pro Biarritz on Friday in France, but not before clinching enough points to be crowned the youngest-ever ASP world surfing champion.

Moore, 18, was presented with the title after the semifinals. After she defeated French surfer Pauline Ado in the first semifinal, in three-foot surf, her closest rival, Sally Fitzgibbons, needed to win the event to carry the race to the seventh and final ASP Women's World Tour contest.

Fitzgibbons lost to Gilmore in the other semifinal.

"It's been a great event and I was just smiling during the whole final," said Hawaii's Moore, who finished third last year in her rookie season. "I have been thinking about this for a long time since I was a little girl. Just to be here right now and being world champ is pretty crazy."

The legendary Kelly Slater, a 10-time world champion on the men's tour, won his first title when he was 20, and had been the youngest.


Carissa Moore 2011 ASP Women's World Champion from Nike 6.0 on Vimeo.

Moore ended the four-year reign of Gilmore, a 23-year-old Australian who had won titles each year since her 2007 rookie season. Moore also becomes the first female surfer from Hawaii to win a women's title since Margo Oberg in 1981. (The late Andy Irons claimed consecutive men's titles from 2002-04.)

Gilmore's victory in the Roxy Pro final was her first this season.

"Her turns out there were really strong and I thought she was surfing better than me but I got a little head dip and it was the excitement of everything," said Gilmore, who beat Moore by a score of 17.27 to 15.50in the best-two-waves format. "She is definitely the strongest of everyone this whole year and she has been in every single final and that is a new record. To beat the freshly-crowned champ is pretty cool."

Moore,an 11-time national amateur champion, had for years been labeled a future superstar. She made her first statement when she was 10 and placed third at the 2003 National Championships in a boys' Mini Grom final.

"The first time I saw Carissa competing at the Nationals, I could tell she had this special talent," said Janice Aragon, executive director of the National Scholastic Surfing Assn."Every year, she would blow my mind with phenomenal surfing and technical skills that massively improved with each year. She became unstoppable. No one yet has come close to her competitive dominance at the national level."

Moore is known for her humble, almost shy nature out of the water, and her cunning ability to catch the best waves and execute flawless turns and cutbacks.

"I dreamed of surfing at this level my whole life since I was a little kid and I don't think you can ever expect or anticipate the feeling," she said.

-- Images of Carissa Moore in action and during her world title celebration are courtesy of ÃÃé ASP/ Aquashot

It's that time of year again. Time for athletes to act like superstars and saunter down the red carpet for ESPN's annual ESPY Awards. The Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award's will be hitting the Nokia Theatre in LA on July 13th. Comedian Seth Meyers returns this year as host and is sure to keep the crowd rolling with his raunchy humor.

Before the big show, ESPN wants you to vote for your favorite athletes. Several X Games athletes have been nominated for these prestigious awards and we think you should show your support for them.

See who's up for what and get on over to ESPYs.com to cast your vote.

Best Female Athlete:

Kelly Clark
- Won SuperPipe gold medal at Winter X, Winter X Europe and Burton U.S. Open.
- Became the first female snowboarder to land a 1080 in competition, at Winter X.

Lindsey Vonn
- Won the Super G, Super-Combined and Downhill titles in 2011.
- Finished the season with eight race wins.

Best Male Action Sports Athlete:

Shaun White
- Won gold in Snowboard SuperPipe at Winter X 2011 and Silver in Skateboard Vert at X Games 2010.
- Won the two Skateboard Vert stops at which he competed on the 2010 Dew Tour.

Kevin Rolland
- Winter X and Winter X Europe repeat gold in Ski SuperPipe.
- Won 2 of 3 Dew Tour events plus the Dew points crown.
- Earned the AFP Superpipe points title by an enormous margin.

Kelly Slater
-Won his 10th ASP World Tour title (most in history) in 2010 at age 38.
-Is now the youngest person to win surfing's top points title (captured at age 20) and the oldest.

Travis Pastrana
-Won Moto X Double gold at X Games 2010 (Freestyle and Speed & Style)

Tucker Hibbert
-Won his 5th straight Winter X SnoCross gold.
-Won 11 of 16 National series contests despite racing the 2nd half of the season with a wrist that needed surgery
-Captured both 2011 National series points titles.

Best Female Action Sports Athlete:

Sarah Burke
-Won Ski SuperPipe gold at both Winter X (her fourth SuperPipe gold at Winter X) and Winter X Europe.
-Also earned victories at a pair of World Cup events

Kelly Clark
-Won Winter X SuperPipe gold medal, Winter X Europe gold medal and Burton U.S. Open.
-Became the first female snowboarder to land a 1080 in competition, at Winter X.

Ashley Fiolek
-Won her second straight Moto X Racing gold at X Games 2010.
-Also finished second in points on the Women's Motocross Association tour in 2010.

Stephanie Gilmore
-At 23, won four of the eight surfing events on the 2010 ASP World Tour on her way to a fourth straight points crown.

Go get your vote on. Do it.

Though there's been a lot of changes on the ladies tour in recent years, when one person dominates the way Stephanie Gilmore has things tend to get a little boring.

Gilmore, in case you haven't heard, is already on pace to break every record in surfing. Her four titles in four short years is the best career start ever. But what's even more impressive than her dominance of the women's scene is the quantum leap she's made in closing the gender gap between men's and women's performance.

Now Gilmore's wake is hitting shore.

16-year-old Tyler Wright, in her rookie season, just smashed her way to the final in her debut event as a tour member. Though she's a relative new face it's worth noting that she's already got a couple huge tour wins under her belt. She earned both wins as a wild card, and her first, in 2008, came when she was just 14-years-old.

Meanwhile, Carissa Moore has been on our radar ever since bursting onto the scene as a precocious 12-year-old prodigy. Today she already the presence of a cagey tour veteran even though the 18-year-old is in just her second season on tour.

Both girls have been admiring miss Gilmore's accomplishments, and the performance strides she and her tour peers have been making in recent years. There's been a lot of turnover in the women's ranks, with Sally Fitzgibbons, Coco Ho, and Laura Enever representing a nice injection of fresh young legs with plenty of energy.

Yet Moore and Wright aren't just a fresh set of legs. They're arguably the most powerful 1-2 punch the women's tour has ever seen. The two young guns are pushing women's performance to new heights, and making converts out of even the most ardent women's critics. They surfed fast, loose, and powerfully in the final of the Roxy Pro on Tuesday as they went toe-to-toe in a very impressive showdown.

Moore was able to fend off the rookie, but not without some stress. In fact, Wright had what looked like an event winner on her hands when she pulled into a nice little hollow tube up top, but Moore had priority, and took advantage of it by dropping in, and forcing her into the pit. The move ultimately sealed the deal for Carissa.

Now these youngsters find themselves sitting atop the world tour ratings with six events left to go. Make no mistake, Stephanie Gilmore has her work cut out for her. Granted, she heard that same song last year...but number five won't be easy.

Above: 18-year-old Carissa Moore (top) defeated 16-year-old Tyler Wright to take the win at stop one of the women's ASP world tour, The Roxy Pro.

Reigning 4 time ASP Women's world champion Stephanie Gilmore has left her longtime sponsor Rip Curl and inked a 5 year contract with Quiksilver. She is the first women ever to ride for Quiksilver, as up until now Roxy has been the female side of Quik. This new deal is part of the launch of Quiksilver's new girl's line, which Gilmore will be the global embassador for. Here is an exerp from the official press release:

Quiksilver is pleased to announce that it has signed current ASP Women's World Champion Stephanie Gilmore to a five-year endorsement agreement. Under terms of the agreement Stephanie will ride for the Quiksilver team and has become a Quiksilver brand ambassador, joining a diverse and talented group which includes 13 other female artists, musicians, photographers, philanthropists and fashion designers representing Quiksilver's lines for women. As a brand ambassador Stephanie will contribute to marketing initiatives and activities through her considerable creative talents. The addition of Stephanie to the Quiksilver ambassador program also coincides with the debut of Quiksilver's new global girls line, targeting 18-24 year old young females, set to launch in February 2011.

"I have had exceptional support throughout my career and I am excited to have this bright opportunity with the respected team at Quiksilver," says Gilmore. "I am looking forward to pushing myself to new levels and feel this is a move which will help me stay inspired while competing at the highest level as a professional surfer on the ASP Women's World Tour. It's thrilling to be a part of an innovative and globally respected brand like Quiksilver. Its rich history and creative direction are well aligned with my personal ambitions."

Stephanie Gilmore, who recently won her fourth consecutive world surfing title, was assaulted Monday night outside her apartment in Tweed Heads, Australia.

The 22-year-old superstar reportedly was struck on the head with an iron bar by a man who approached her on the stairs of her Hill Street apartment. The alleged assailant, who was later arrested, is believed to be homeless.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reported that Gilmore was struck twice and also suffered a broken wrist. She was hospitalized for treatment and released.

Afterward, Gilmore released this statement via the ASP World Tour website: "There was an incident in which I was attacked at my property. It was a completely random act in which I was a victim in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is now a matter for the court. I have sought medical attention and am on my road to recovery in high spirits.

"I look forward to getting back in the water in six weeks. In the mean time, I'm staying mentally and physically fit every way I can. I have fantastic support from my family and friends and look forward to resting up for a fresh start in the New Year."

Earlier this month Gilmore won her third consecutive Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship. She has won the world title every year since qualifying for the World Tour.

-- Photo of Stephanie Gilmore courtesy of the ASP