Quiksilver & Roxy Champions

Aussies Owen Wright and Stephanie Gilmore claimed victory this Sunday at the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Gold Coast, the opening stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour, in four-to-six foot waves at the world-famous Snapper Rocks.

An incredible finals day delivered two Australian event champions, and both Wright and Gilmore will take the coveted Jeep Leaders' Jersey heading into the next event on the CT, the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro.

Wright claimed his third CT victory today by defeating close friend and teammate Matt Wilkinson in what was one of the most inspiring comebacks in surfing history. Wright sat out the entire 2016 season due to a career-threatening,traumatic brain injury he suffered on Oahu's North Shore in Hawaii in 2015. And the Quiksilver Pro marked his triumphant return to the Championship Tour after accepting the injury wildcard for 2017. The win today is his best ever result on the Gold Coast and earns Wright the top spot on the Jeep Leaderboard.

"At the start of February, I was sitting in the doctor's office and there were question marks on the year," Wright said. "So to be sitting here right now, we just pushed hard and went hard. I confronted every fear of getting back into it. There were a lot of fears I needed to push through in order to get back into the sport and back into what pretty much took me out and could have taken me out forever. I kept going and kept doing it. I am just so stoked."

The six-time WSL Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) claimed her sixth Roxy Pro title today after defeating Lakey Peterson (USA) in the Final. Today's win marks Gilmore's 25th elite tour victory and her first since the Cascais Women's Pro in 2014. The result will move Gilmore up from 6th to 1st on the Jeep Rankings.

"I can't believe it, I've been visualizing holding that trophy so much," Gilmore said. "It was so hard against Lakey [Peterson]. I'm so happy to have all the support from everyone here and there's nothing better than winning at home."

Gilmore previously dispatched three-time WSL Champion Carissa Moore (HAW) in the Quarterfinals with a perfect 10-point ride and compatriot Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) in the Semifinals. Moore, who came into the event ranked third in the world, will move to fifth. Fitzgibbons' Semifinal berth will see her climb up five places to third on the Jeep Leaderboard.