Some comments on Wilson and Peterson's victory on the Gold Coast

The championship had an epic finale in the tubes of the legendary Kirra, queen of the Gold Coast

March 15th, 2018

There are very few championships where the best surfer throughout the tournament wins. It is part of the competition, there may be a series with fewer waves, a competitive tactic that works, and so on.

The Quik and Roxy Pro was one of those rare tournaments where the winners were those who surfed the best throughout the event. Californian Lakey Peterson does a fast, powerful carve on the lip that has even the most critical of women's surfing on the edge of their seats in admiration. On the final day, she combined this trademark maneuver with barrels and was unstoppable.

She easily beat Keely Andrew in the final, as did Malia Manuel. The Hawaiian put up a tougher fight, but Peterson was better.

Julian Wilson's right shoulder shouldn't be working to stop him, the Australian crashed on a mountain bike a few weeks ago. The accident seems to have done him good. Photo: WSL/Sloane

Julian Wilson's case was interesting, as he is criticized for his surfing being so meticulous, so perfect that it seems like he doesn't put in any effort to do the maneuvers. And yet, he had to break his shoulder mountain biking to barely make it to the tournament and thus "make an effort" to win the championship.

How come the judges didn't give him a 10 on his first wave in the final? That's a question Wilson himself must be asking himself right now, in the midst of the celebration party.

Buchan was a top-level rival for the final, he fought until the double-overhead and, how well does this Australian surf backside. Not only by barreling but also because he is not afraid to put the board in a double overhead session by falling on top of it.

Lakey had won a US Open seven years earlier. Given her talent, that was a long time coming. Photo: WSL/Sloane

It was surprising that rookie Tomas Hermes placed third and Michael Rodriguez placed fifth. Just thinking about all the beasts that finished below them two makes one judge them differently and once again leaves behind the paradigm that Brazilians and points do not get along.

It was no surprise that Griffin Colapinto placed third; the Californian is known to be a talent, but what is incredible is that he manages to enjoy himself, not feel the pressure and thus let go of his surfing and get through the heats… The number 10 of the friendly and authentic 19-year-old will remain in everyone's retinas for a long time.

The "Peterson Curve", a registered maneuver that gave him the victory. Photo: WSL/Cestari

Here are the full results and the rankings for Margaret River, which starts on March 28:

Final
1 - Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.43
2 - Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.10

Semis
SF 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 10.00 defeated Tomas Hermes (BRA) 9.17
SF 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.77 beat Griffin Colapinto (USA) 11.66

Quarter finals
CF 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.50 defeated Owen Wright (AUS) 2.50
CF 2: Tomas Hermes (BRA) 8.73 defeated Filipe Toledo (BRA) 7.33
CF 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.44 defeated Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 10.00
CF 4: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 16.43 defeated Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.44

Roxy Pro Gold Coast:
1 - Lakey Peterson (USA) 15.67
2 - Keely Andrew (AUS) 5.67

Semis
SF 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) 11.00 defeated Malia Manuel (HAW) 8.33
SF 2: Keely Andrew (AUS) 7.50 defeated Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 6.77

Ranking.
1 -Julian Wilson (AUS) 10,000 pts
2 - Adrian Buchan (AUS) 7,800 pts
3 - Griffin Colapinto (USA) 6,085 pts
3 - Tomas Hermes (BRA) 6,085 pts

Ladies Ranking
1 -Lakey Peterson (USA) 10,000 pts
2 – Keely Andrew (AUS) 7,800 pts
3 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 6,085 pts
3 – Malia Manuel (HAW) 6,085 pts