Jordy Smith & Courtney Conlogue Win 2017 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach

COASTALWATCH | 2017 RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH

You've Got To Win It To Ring It

The women finished up their event on Monday afternoon as the Easter weekend came to a close on the Surf Coast in Victoria. The swell was peaking at six-feet and it all came down to six-times World Champion Stephanie Gilmore and defending event champion Courtney Conlogue.

The final was a tight battle between the two rivals. Steph got the edge on their opening exchange with an excellent 8.33 to Courtney’s 8.00. It came down to the last five minutes when Courtney solidified her score with the biggest set wave of the heat unleashing her power to lock in a near perfect 9.00 point ride with Steph unable to match the score as time closed in.

“Winning it last year felt so good, but to back it up is amazing,” Courtney said. “I’m so speechless. The first two events of the Australian leg did not go that well for me, so I’m stoked to finish it off with a win. I have always loved coming to Bells. It’s an amazing arena with all of the fans down here. It’s a really tricky wave to master, so to have two wins here is really special.

The win for Courtney pushes her up into fourth place on the overall rankings with Steph remaining in the yellow leader's jersey.

DON'T MISS: Simon Anderson Surfs Bells & Recreates 1981 Winning Thruster

In the men's event, it was Jordy Smith from the start. As a couple of us from Coastalwatch paddled out at Bells on Thursday in the company of Jordy, Wilko, Medina, Freestone and De Souza the presence and energy of Jordy was electric. He hollered for everyone, as the sets approached he rallied the lineup into action and as he took just a couple of strokes his face lit up as he dropped in and sped down the line. It was like we were sitting out there the day after the event, like Jordy had already rung that bell.

In 2016 Jordy made it to the final at Bells and was defeated by an in-form Wilko. Today he came face-to-face with a hungry Brazillian in the form of Caio Ibelli. In his first WCT final berthing, Caio looked hungrier than ever, going wave-for-wave with Jordy despite the South African slamming home two 9-point-rides. It was a courageous effort from Caio and a spectacular win for Jordy.

Barton Lynch said Jordy was one of the greatest surfers to never win a bell to which Jordy said, "10 years I've been hammering away, this is a dream come true," he replied. "Ciao has been so on-point in this event I knew a seven wouldn't cut it. The guy is a phenomenal surfer I knew I had to work hard. I hope this is a world title year, I'm going to try my best in every event. Just putting pieces of the puzzle together."

Today's win shoots Jordy up to second place on the overall rankings behind John John Florence.

For full results visit www.worldsurfleague.com

*Incase you missed John John's incredible air today, view it below.

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