Surfing legend Stephanie Gilmore talks about winning a record eight world titles, the sport's stereotypes and how it has led the way for equality; She considers how sportswomen in their 30s can get even better and her comeback to elite surfing next year
Monday 25 March 2024 12:10, UK
A genuine great, surfing legend Stephanie Gilmore speaks to Sky Sports News about winning a record eight world titles, a comeback next year, how sportswomen in their 30s like her are achieving success and why she is proud of her role in fighting for equality.
In a surprise announcement earlier this year Gilmore revealed she is taking a year off from competition to focus on her physical and mental health. It means missing a chance of going to the Paris Olympics and puts a pause on a potential ninth world title.
Gilmore has won world titles across three decades with her first coming in 2007 and her last two years ago. Gilmore made history in 2022 when she headed to San Clemente in California to compete in the Rip Curl World Surf League Finals.
She beat rival Carissa Moore and celebrated her eighth world title, a surprise to many in the sport.
Australia's Gilmore told Sky Sports News: "I won my seventh world title in 2018, and I just thought that I wasn't maybe ever going to get to eight. And it just seemed like the talent coming through was so good and Carissa Moore [a five-time world champion] really had such a stranglehold on the Tour.
"To come from fifth and to go all the way into first … and to take the title from someone like Carissa in the end was such a new thing to happen for all of us."
Winning the world title unexpectedly in an inconsistent season, she said for many in the sport "was uncomfortable, and it was controversial and it was like we didn't really know how it was going to feel.
"But at the same time," she added, "it just felt so right.
"And I've never really had a moment like that in my career where I had to compete against the world No 1 for the world title in the water. I had to beat her twice and it was just such a magical day. I'll never forget it.
"I guess that saying 'never give up on your dreams' is very important and it's true."
Gilmore began surfing before the age of 10 and less than a decade later was taking part in World Tour events. Her earliest success was when she entered as a wildcard and won the 2005 Roxy Pro Gold Coast. Only two years later she was a world champion.
Gilmore admits women in the sport have faced a stereotype about their looks and what they are expected to wear.
"There's quite the stereotype of bikinis and being a beach babe and sort of having to fulfil this role of being the hot blonde beach babe, but also perform in the sport and be a world champion," she said.
"In the beginning I felt uncomfortable. It's not really my thing, but I also knew that I was becoming a brand, and that's important to build your brand in a way that makes you more valuable to potential ambassador deals and stuff. And so I was aware of how it worked," said the 36-year-old.
"But at the same time, now I'm so happy now that it feels like there's a lot more recognition for people who are just being authentic and being themselves. And it's cool to be unique and quirky and have some character and be different. And I think that it's nice that the world's kind of moving more in that direction."
In 2018 the World Surf League (WSL) announced that from 2019 male and female surfers would win equal prize money for the first time in its history. It made the WSL the first US-based global sports league to offer equal pay for men and women.
At the time Gilmore wanted it to inspire other sports and global organisations. She says it was only during her career that she understood "her voice" was important in trying to make sport fairer for sportswomen.
She said: "I was never driven by money to win titles. It was more a feeling of wanting to be a world champion, to be the very best in the world at something. I never really thought about the money, but as you evolve in your career and as a female athlete, you start to understand how much we are living in like a male-dominated industry. And it has been for so long.
"It became apparent to me how important it is to use my voice as a world champion, to try and make really positive changes.
"And if it's not for myself, then it is for the future generations. But I really can't take all the credit. It's been the generations of women before me, professional surfers and in all different types of sports, who have been fighting to earn the right to have equal prize pay."
"It's funny to me to think that people would be against it. I always think as a woman, I don't get a discount on my flights to the event or I don't get a discount on my accommodation just because I'm a woman.
"I'm so proud that surfing has led the way in that we fought for equal prize money and now we have it. And that's across all the disciplines within our sport. And it's just funny because surfing is rebellious … and here we are sort of leading the way. And sport is a great place to show people equality because we stand on stage with our pay checks, so everyone knows what we earn."
It wasn't the money alone that mattered. "It was more than that," she explained. "It's the messaging around it. It's the story that we're telling and the boundaries that we're breaking along the way."
Gilmore is also enjoying seeing some record-breaking moments in football at home and in the Women's Super League where Arsenal have set records for attendances of over 60,000 fans.
She said: "I was here during the World Cup and I'm a huge Arsenal fan. I'm so proud to see the Arsenal Women's team filling the stadiums. But to be here during the Matildas' run, where it became the most watched performance on Australian TV history. That is just so cool to think that they were given the platform, the women rose to the occasion and everyone loves it, everyone supports it. It really feels like women's sport is in a wonderful place.
For Gilmore, who won her last world title at the age of 34, she feels sport is too quick to underestimate women in their 30s.
"I read somewhere recently that a female woman's athletic peak is early thirties. I don't know - I feel as I've gotten older, I actually have learned so much more about my body. I'm so much more comfortable with my decision-making in what I eat, how I train, how I recover, how I'm travelling, the things that I really need to do to make sure that I'm in the best possible headspace and body space for when I'm performing," she said.
"There's always those things where if you want to have children and you have to sort of put a pause on your career for a few months, and it takes a toll on you physically, I'm sure.
"I also think that a lot of women out there have become so much more strong once they've had children, that they've come back into their sports and they've realised, 'whoa, my body, I know what I can do now.' I went through this crazy thing and now I'm even stronger and they have this mum strength."
She adds modern technology and information is helping to extend careers: "Because we have such great access to wonderful information, just at our fingertips, we're really able to tap into a longevity that athletes have never had before.
"If you really love what you're doing and you're really passionate about it then you can do it forever and you never feel like you're working."
When she announced her plans to take a year out of the sport, Gilmore said she was planning on returning. But after a few months away, has she changed her mind?
"Since I've had this time off, I've been watching the women competing, and I'm pretty jealous, which means I still want to be there which is a good thing. That feeling and competitive spirit hasn't died at all," says Gilmore.
She is involved in some film projects and bringing female surfing "to the big screen" and enjoys being an adventurer without the restrictions of organised competition.
Gilmore said: "It's actually hard to call it a sport because it's a lifestyle, it's a culture, it's everything that you live and breathe. As a young girl, I feel like it was the first thing that I can remember falling in love with. And I'd wake up in the morning and I would think, I wonder what the ocean is doing.
"You could go on and win 20 world titles, but you may never perfect the act of surfing because it really is so subjective, and everyone has a different style.
"The style that I like and the style you like can be completely different. And there's so many different waves around the world that I don't think you could really conquer all of them."
