Carissa Moore Fourth World Title

On December 1st at Honolua Bay, three surfers went into Round 1 of the Lululemon Maui Pro with one goal: to make their way to the finals and become the 2019 World Champion. The competition was hot between Carissa Moore, Lakey Peterson, and Caroline Marks.

However, the recently recovered Tyler Wright knocked Lakey Peterson out of the race in the 16th round, after returning to compete after being gone for 17 months for health issues. So on December 2nd there were only 2 contenders left. The former champion Carissa Moore had to beat Nikki van Dijk in the quarterfinals. While Caroline Marks, the 17 year old, had to beat Steph Gilmore in order to compete to become the youngest surfer world champion.

When Carissa opened up her quarterfinals performance with her trademark, heavy footed railwork, it was obvious she was not planning on walking away without her 4th title. Carissa put up a couple of mid-range scores in the opening minutes despite the inconsistency of the Bay. This put Nikki van Dijk in a catch up position. Carissa then ended it with two 8-point rides winning the quarterfinals and getting one step closer to champion.

As for Caroline, even though she put up a memorable performance by firing backside hacks that were spectacular, and gained a lead on Steph at some point, she found herself chasing a near excellent range score in the end. When the clock ended it seemed that Caroline was no longer a contender for champion.

Carissa was overwhelmed with happiness. She stated: “I was expecting a semifinal heat with her, so I was just trying to control the emotions. This has not only been a year’s work but three years of growing and learning. Everything from here on out is cherry on top.”

With this title, Carissa Moore became the sixth female surfer ever to win four titles and solidified her name in the history books.

Source:

Douglas, Ashtyn. “Carissa Clinches Her Fourth World Title at Honolua.” SURFER Magazine, SURFER Magazine, 3 Dec. 2019, www.surfer.com/features/carissa-clinches-her-fourth-world-title-at-honolua.