Stephanie Gilmore Is Your 2018 World Champion (Now 7x!)

On November 26th, 2018, in flawless, if slightly browned, Honolua Bay conditions, Stephanie Gilmore became a 7x World Champion of surfing. 

Steph’s only competition for the Title, California’s Lakey Peterson, lost in Round 2 to wildcard Alana Blanchard, leaving Peterson incapable of overtaking Gilmore in the WSL standings.

With 28 minutes left in the heat, Lakey let a wave go that will haunt her for years to come. What would have been an easy chip-shot take off into a double-up tube became ultimately nothing. Peterson let the roll-in – which had ’10’ written all over it – slide past her with priority.

Peterson’s opponent, Blanchard, later clocked in a 7.6 for several aggressive turns. The Rincon-bred talent never rebounded.

Peterson’s loss makes Stephanie Gilmore the tied-for-winningest female in the history of surfing – Australia’s Layne Beachley also has seven ASP/WSL World Titles.

Stab wishes a sincere congrats to Stephanie Gilmore, who has proven herself to be one of, if not the greatest female surfer of all time.