Tyler Wright wins world Under-18 surfing title
New Lennox Head resident Tyler Wright is the world Under-18 women’s surfing champion.
Tyler, whose family moved from the South Coast to Lennox recently, won the title in Ecuador on Monday.
She was part of a dramatic come-from-behind victory as Team Australia was crowned the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Champions in Salinas, Ecuador.
Dean Bowen (Gerroa, NSW) and Tyler won individual gold medals for U/18 Boys and U/18 Girls to push Team Australia over the line for a fourth consecutive team gold metal.
The largest crowds ever seen at a junior surfing event packed the beach to witness a thrilling conclusion to the contest which saw 264 athletes from 28 countries boil down to just four surfers from each division.
The final day was a triumph for Australia, which found itself relegated to sixth place in the standings only two days before the finals.
In the final, Tyler was up against 2008 ISA World Junior gold medallist, Australian teammate Laura Enever, USA surfer Courtney Conlogue and Hawaiian Alessa Quizon.
After charging through the main rounds through all eight days, Wright came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, posting the first big score of the final and holding on to first for the entire 30 minutes.
USA surfer Courtney Conlogue stayed on Wright’s heels, also posting big scores, but in the end was left needing almost nine points to overtake Wright.
Coming in from the water on the shoulders of Australian teammates and wrapped in the Aussie flag, Wright poured water over herself to cool down from an exhausting and intense final.
“This is so awesome,” said Wright.
“I have waited one year for this result after placing second last year.
“On the top of my 2009 goal list was to become the World Junior Champion and to reach it is just amazing.
“Every heat this year in Ecuador has been a hard. There are so many good competitors here from around the world. I knew I had to just focus on my own game out there in the water and not worry about the others.
“We hit rock bottom the other day and it didn’t look as though we would be in the medal rounds, but we pulled together as a team. The support we’ve given each other has been amazing.”
As winners of the Under 18 Boys and Under 18 Girls, Dean Bowen and Tyler Wright will also receive entry spots in the 2010 Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast Trials, an Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour event.
Final country placing went to:
1st: Australia
2nd: Hawaii
3rd: Brazil
4th: USA
Picture courtesy of Surfing Australia.
