Celebrating its 58th year running and Rip Curl’s 50th anniversary, this year’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach culminated in the some of the biggest conditions the event has seen since 1981.

“What an event! I went from being out of rhythm with the ocean to the ocean being in the kind of rhythm I enjoy,” Conlogue said.  “I was trying to contain my ‘grom froth’ watching the waves all day. It feels incredible to get another Bell, they’re not easy to come by. Every single Bell has its own special path and journey that got me it and this one was definitely an amazing one to win.”

“The conditions were amazing today and it was great to share the Final with Malia,” continued Conlogue. “It was unreal. She’s been surfing spectacularly this whole competition. When I heard she got an 8-point ride I was like, ‘It’s on’. To come back and post a Perfect 10 felt so amazing. My team means everything and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

“It’s a surreal feeling to have won this event,” Florence said.  “Especially an event like this where we started at Winki with small waves then to how big it was yesterday and then just totally perfect today. There have been so many different faces and challenges and then surfing against Filipe (Toledo) is always pretty scary.”

In addition to the conditions, the win was not without its fierce opponents as Florence overcame two-time WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) in the Quarterfinals, 2017 event winner Jordy Smith (ZAF) in the Semifinals, and Brasilian contender Filipe Toledo (BRA) in the Final. Florence’s win gives him his career’s best start to the season and he will head to the Corona Bali Protected wearing the Jeep Leader Jersey, a frightening prospect for the rest of the men’s CT.

“This was definitely the most testing Finals Day of my career,” continued Florence. “From how big it was yesterday to the matchups today, it was really tiring and needed a lot of energy for the two heats yesterday and three heats today. I was just trying to surf my best and focus on myself, and it worked out. I couldn’t have done it without my team and my family. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone in Torquay for letting us surf your waves. It’s been so fun.”

“It’s a lot to take it in as this is the best start to my year so far,” Manuel said. “I’m very thankful we get to come back here to this iconic place of Bells Beach. It’s so special. It’s amazing to be up here with some of the best stars of our generation and I got a cool little Bell to take home to Hawaii. The waves for the last few days were challenging for all of us, but I definitely think that being from Hawaii has definitely helped me feel comfortable as I have those ocean instincts.”

Toledo wanted his eighth event win and his first Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach title in today’s Final, but he fell just short to Florence. Toledo’s reputation as one of the best rail surfers on Tour strengthened today as he ripped into the huge, open walls of the Bells Bowl. The perennial title threat held a commanding lead throughout the Final until Florence locked in a 7.63 (out of a possible 10), leaving Toledo to chase until the final seconds. The Brasilian was unable to find the win and finished runner-up to Florence for the second time in his career.

“John John (Florence) has now got me twice,” said Toledo. “I see you brother (laughs), I’m just kidding. I feel so blessed to be in the Final of such a historic event in waves like this and I think everyone wanted to be in that Final surfing those waves. It was awesome to be out there against one of the best surfers in the world. Congrats to John (Florence), Courtney (Conlogue), Malia (Manuel), and to everyone else who did really well. It’s been fun to watch the last few days. I finally got to surf proper Bells Beach, which was really fun.”

“I never put in a performance this week as I wanted too, but I’m happy with a fifth,” Slater said. “To at least have a chance today was nice. It looked like Ryan (Callinan) got a good double-up that he attacked and I was just caught behind the eight-ball. It’s going to be fun in Bali with high-performance surfing. Seeing all the stuff from Italo (Ferreira), Gabe (Medina) and John John (Florence) was insane to watch last year, so I’m excited to compete there this year.”

Callinan later lost to runner-up Toledo in their Semifinal matchup.

Although he fell in the Semifinals to eventual winner Florence, Jordy Smith (ZAF) was a clear standout on the last two days of competition at Bells. The South African powered through the big surf defeating wildcard Italo Ferreira (BRA) in the Quarterfinals but ended his run with a second-consecutive 3rd place finish. Smith leaves Australia sitting in World No. 3 on the Jeep Leaderboard as he sets his sights on the Corona Bali Protected in Keramas, Bali, Indonesia.

“That last heat was really tough and I think I kept sitting in and getting caught inside. I think I messed up a lot. I had a few waves I could’ve taken under priority and I just got caught overthinking at times. It was really tough to tell which waves were good out there but I’m just going to watch that heat over again and learn from it. It’s been a great trip to Australia. I’m just going to learn from it and move on to the next one. It’s going to be a really exciting year and Malia surfed well so congrats to her.”

An interference call on Ferreira in the last Quarterfinal heat stopped his chances of defending his event win at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Without priority, Ferreira dropped in on a wave that Smith rode, resulting in the interference call. The rulebook states that an interference penalty will be called if a surfer without priority is found to: “Cross in front of or bottom turn around the Surfer with priority, regardless if the Surfer is up and Riding a wave or in the process of catching a wave” (169.01).

The next stop on the 2019 WSL Championship Tour will be the Corona Bali Protected. The event window will open on May 13 and run through May 25, 2019. The event will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and Facebook.com/WSL . Also check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Quarterfinal Results:
Heat 1: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 12.67 DEF. Kelly Slater (USA) 5.67
Heat 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.17 DEF. Jacob Willcox (AUS) 13.06
Heat 3: John John Florence (HAW) 16.87 DEF. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.17
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.23 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 8.40

2019 WSL Women’s CT Jeep Leaderboard (After Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach):
1 – Caroline Marks (USA) 16,085 points
2 – Malia Manuel (HAW) 13,885 points
3 – Courtney Conlogue (USA) 12,610 points
4 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 12,545 points
5 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9,490 points

2019 WSL Men’s CT Jeep Leaderboard (After Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach):
1 – John John Florence (HAW) 16,085 points
2 – Italo Ferreira (BRA) 14,745 points
3 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12,170 points
4 – Filipe Toledo (BRA) 11,120 points
5 – Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9,490 points

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.