Olympians lead charge in surf comp return
Seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore and fellow Tokyo Olympian Sally Fitzgibbons have booked semi-final spots at the Tweed Coast Pro after impressing in their return to competitive surfing.
With the international World Surf League Tour cancelled due to coronavirus, the Tweed Coast Pro is Australia's first professional surf competition in several months.
Gilmore advanced straight into the quarter-finals in the all-Australian women's contest by posting the highest score with 15.93 in small, inconsistent conditions at Cabarita Beach in northern NSW.
Fitzgibbons came off second best in a tight tussle with two-time world champion, fellow Australian Tyler Wright in their three-surfer heat.
Before paddling out, Wright used the event to make a social justice statement, kneeling on the beach beside her board emblazoned with Black Lives Matter for 439 seconds - one for each Aboriginal death in custody since 1991.
Fitzgibbons made a stand of her own in the elimination round with a commanding win over Holly Wawn.
Wright and Fitzgibbons will clash again in Monday's quarter-final while Gilmore will face Zahli Kelly.
Fitzgibbons was excited to be back in competition after spending the winter working on her aerial skills ahead of Tokyo.
"I was just surfing my home break and having the whole winter at home was unreal," she said.
"Just keeping the imagination around my surfing and I wanted to keep developing and I feel like I've made some good inroads into some of my weaknesses."
Macy Callaghan and Isabella Nicholls as well as Nikki Van Dijk and Molly Picklum make up the other quarter-finals.
The Wrights were well represented with Tokyo Olympian Owen and younger brother Mikey both joining their sister Tyler in the quarter-finals.
Owen, the highest-ranked male in the field, will take on young Queenslander Ethan Ewing, who pulled off the highest-scored wave of the day with a 9.17 in his elimination win.
Mikey will meet South African Matthew McGillivray in the final eight.
Julian Wilson, who is also on Australia's Olympic team, will take on Jack Robinson, who got the better of him in their heat.
Connor O'Leary and Adrian Buchan are the other quarter-finalists.
Meanwhile, there's a dedicated jet in the water for every surfer, a shark spotting drone and extra surveillance on the beaches after last week's fatal shark attack 20km north.
