‘Magical’ moment as surfer shares wave with pod of dolphins as she wins first world championship tour event
(CNN) — Gabriela Bryan won her first world championship tour event at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro on Sunday and in a “magical” moment in the final, the Hawaiian surfer shared a wave with a pod of dolphins.
Bryan, 22, a former rookie of the year, beat 18-year-old Sawyer Lindbald to the title, an 8.10 score on one wave making sure of victory for a 15.93 total, which was nearly two points better than Linblad’s cumulative mark.
But it was on the 7.83-scoring run beforehand where she was joined by the dolphins.
“I’m just so happy we got good waves today and all the girls put on a really good show. It’s insane, I just won,” Bryan said on the World Surf League (WSL) broadcast.
“When I kicked out, I was just wow! That wave was sent to me by someone, the dolphins in it. It was magical.”
Bryan also makes the WSL’s mid-season cut and moves to No. 5 in the world rankings.
In the men’s event, Australia’s Jack Robinson won, beating two-time world champion John John Florence, who had scored a perfect 10 in the semifinals.
On the biggest wave of the day, Robinson all but sealed the win with a 9.10 score, finishing with a 17.27 total in the final – 1.23 points ahead of Florence.
“That was the final I wanted, I wanted to throw everything at it. It’s always fun surfing against John – we’re going to have many more heats together,” said Robinson, per Reuters.
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