Fiona Wylde wins the 2019 Sunset Beach Pro, the 1st stop on the 2019 APP World Tour in a tightly contested final that saw the top 4 women throw everything at it in the sizable and challenging surf to take the win. With a mix of NE wind swell and a new pulse of solid NW swell, the athletes were faced with tricky wind conditions, but met the challenge with impressive performances across the board.
“It was an absolute thrill to win the APP World Tour Sunset Beach Pro and I still don’t quite believe it is real!”
— Fiona Wylde
The Women’s Final 4 were as follows:
- Fiona Wylde (USA) – Starboard
- Izzi Gomez (Columbia)
- Shakira Westdorp (Australia) – Starboard
- Aline Adisaka (Brazil)
Watch the Women’s Final from 2019 Sunset Beach Pro (skip to 05:55:00):
Head over to the APP World Tour Youtube Channel for more live feed video replays.
… and here’s Fiona Wylde’s recap of the 2019 Sunset Beach Pro:
“Conditions were not the cleanest, with about 5-7ft sets rolling through, but there definitely was no lack of power! It seemed that yesterday was all about finding the needle in the haystack, but when the gems came through, the waves lined up so nicely along Sunset Reef.
I started my day in the round 2 repechage because I lost in round 1. I was really upset to be in the repechage and thought it as a negative thing, but it actually sparked a little fire. I wanted more than anything to make it into the semi-finals and then the final, so I knew I have to give it my everything starting from that round two heat.
I surfed my best heat and I think I even did some of my best turns, at least in a contest. I scored a 15.83 heat total, which it the current highest heat total of the event. I was stoked, and that excitement helped carry myself through to the final.
Once I made it to the final, I could breathe! I was just so happy to be part of it, I felt like I had nothing to lose! It wasn’t an easy final, and I can’t believe that I won with a heat total of 9.00, but sometimes it is all it takes! My 6 point ride was a good wave and I was happy with the way it felt. When the buzzer sounded, I had no idea that I was in the lead, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Justin Holland, who was caddying for me, called it out that I had just won – at that moment I saw Shakira throw her hands up in the air in elation to congradulate me! I was in disbelief, but also overjoyed!
Winning an APP World Tour SUP Surf contest has been a dream since I first started competing. Sunset Beach is one of my favourite waves in the world, so to have my first win here feels spectacular!
Izzi, Aline, and Shakira were all charging in the final, and I would really like to thank them and all the women competitors for the inspiration they give me! It’s an honour to be out competing and to be competing alongside these talented strong women.
As happy as I am to win, I would like to share this win with everybody who has or is affected by Type 1 Diabetes. The disease can be hard and overwhelming at times, but it is also possible to achieve great things! It’s important to never give up because you never know what will happen!!
Thank you to everybody who has reached out with messages of congratulations and support. My sponsors have been spectacular, Starboard, Black Project SUP, Anetik Performance, Dakine, Dexcom and Companion Medical! Thank you all!”
~ Fiona Wylde – Starboard SUP Dream Team rider
