The bell has tolled for Mick Fanning one final time, although it was not quite the way the retiring Australian had envisaged. As the curtain came down on the 36-year-old’s career at his pet event, the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, he was unable to ring the famous bell for a fifth time as the young Brazilian, Italo Ferreira, gatecrashed the farewell party by taking out his first Championship Tour win.
Fanning had set up what would have been a fairytale ending to his 17-season pro career after beating American Patrick Gudauskas in the semi-final on Thursday morning, but despite a packed beach willing him towards victory, he was unable to catch the wave that would have given him the chance of toppling his opponent as the clock ticked down.
“It was really special,” Fanning said. “I always wanted to finish here at Bells. It’s a very special moment with the crowd, with my friends here. Just to see how much it meant to Italo made me feel better. It’s been an amazing career and I just wanted to say thanks. I’ve learnt so much. I walk away with so many great memories.”
The three-times world champion, who at 36 is 13 years Ferreira’s senior, announced in February he would retire during his 17th season on the pro tour, saying he no longer had the drive to compete at that level day-to-day.
Ferreira, who secured a 15.66 to 12.83 win to become just the second Brazilian to win at Bells, was near speechless after his victory but managed to pay tribute to Fanning. “Mick is one of my favourites,” Ferreira said. “It’s amazing. He’s the best competitor ever. I just want to say thank you Mick for everything. You’re just one of my heroes.”
Earlier another Australian, Stephanie Gilmore, equalled Fanning’s record of four Bells wins – a benchmark they also share with Kelly Slater and Mark Richards – after beating Tatiana Weston-Webb in a thrilling final.
The Hawaiian thought she had done enough with her last wave in the final minute only to see the judges award her a 6.57 – 0.23 off the score she needed to overcome Gilmore and claim the title.
Instead Gilmore celebrated a 14.17 to 13.94 win, before revealing how much it meant to her to have shared the water with Fanning on his final day of professional surfing, albeit briefly as she paddled back in and he went out. Fanning returned the compliment and said how much he admired women’s surfing. “Girls are so much better than us,” he said.
