Sally Fitzgibbons aboard super-maxi yacht Perpetual Loyal

Sally Jayne Fitzgibbons (born 19 December 1990) is an Australian professional surfer on the

Association of Surfing Professionals The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional ...

World Tour (2009–2013). In June 2019, she was ranked No. 1 in the world for women's surfing after winning the

Rio Pro Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. Sally now competes on the second tier challenger series after failing to qualify for the WSL top 10 at the 2022 mid-season cut.

Surfing career

Fitzgibbons was born in

Gerroa, New South Wales Gerroa is a coastal town in the Municipality of Kiama, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia 133 kilometres south of Sydney. It is considered to be the southernmost town in the Illawarra region. Nearby towns are Gerringon ...

. As a 14-year-old, Sally won the ASP Pro Junior open, an event open to any female surfer 21 and younger. She started surfing at a young age, winning the Icon All-Girls Open Event Lennox Head in 2006 aged 16. She represented her State and Australia on many occasions in a number of different sports, including athletics, winning gold at the

2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival The 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival was the fourth edition of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. It was held from 17 to 21 January 2007. Participant nations Of the 23 countries invited, 20 of them participated in the games. They wer ...

800m and 1500m, touch football, soccer, surfing and cross-country running while attending Kiama High School. As a surfer, Fitzgibbons had her first significant results aged 14, becoming the youngest surfer to win an

(ASP) Pro Junior (Under 21s) event, also finishing second at the World Qualifying Series (WQS) Billabong Easter Girls Festival on the same day. She continued to set records throughout her junior years, winning the Australasian Pro Junior Series in 2007 and 2008. At 15, Fitzgibbons represented Australia at the

International Surfing Association The International Surfing Association (ISA) is the world governing authority for surfing, SUP racing, SUP surfing, bodyboarding and all other wave riding activities. The ISA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. After the 20 ...

(ISA) U18 World Surfing Titles in Brazil placing second; at 16, she travelled to Portugal for the ISA U18 World Titles and won her first World Title and backed it up the following year winning both the Billabong ASP U21 World Title and the ISA World Games Open Title. In her first attempt to reach the women's elite World Surfing Tour via the World Qualifying Series, Fitzgibbons set a record by wrapping up the 2008 WQS series in the first 5 events to become the youngest World Surfing Tour qualifier in ASP history. After a ten-point ride in the semi at

North Narrabeen North Narrabeen is a suburb in northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 25 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. North Narrabeen is part of the Northern ...

beach, Fitzgibbons won the junior women's world surfing championship. 2009 saw Fitzgibbons finish fifth on the World Surfing Tour in her rookie year, with a win at the Portugal WQS event along the way. In 2010 Fitzgibbons came runner up in three ASP Women's World Tour events and finished the year as runner up to

Stephanie Gilmore Stephanie Louise Gilmore (29 January 1988) is an Australian professional surfer and eight-time world champion on the Women's WSL World Tour (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2022). Career Gilmore's life as a surfer began at age 9 w ...

in the 2010 ASP Women's World Title. On 23 April 2011, Fitzgibbons won her first ASP World Tour event, defeating

Carissa Moore Carissa Kainani Moore (born August 27, 1992) is a Hawaiian American Olympian, world champion surfer and activist. She was the first-ever winner of the Olympic Gold Medal in women's short board surfing in 2020. She was also the 2011, 2013, 2015 ...

in the final of the Rip Curl Women's Pro at Bells Beach On 30 April 2011, Fitzgibbons won her second ASP World Tour event, once again defeating Carissa Moore in the final of the Subaru Pro in

Taranaki, New Zealand Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth ...

. With this win she became the world's top-ranked female surfer and took the lead in the

2011 ASP World Tour The 2011 ASP World Tour was a professional competitive surfing league run by the Association of Surfing Professionals. Men and women competed in separate tours with events taking place from late February to mid-December, at various surfing location ...

. In August 2011, Fitzgibbons won her third ASP World Tour event, defeating

Lakey Peterson Laura Louise "Lakey" Peterson (born September 30, 1994) is an American professional surfer. She has been ranked as high as #1 by the World Surf League, the highest professional level of women's surfing, and #6 on the ASP Women's World Ranking. I ...

in the final of the US Open of Surf in

California, USA California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. She finished the season runner up to Carissa Moore in the 2011 ASP Women's World Title. On 6 December 2011, Fitzgibbons came fifth in the 2011 Surfer Poll Awards held by ''Surfer'' magazine. In 2011 Fitzgibbons also won the 6-Star event Swatch Girls Pro France. In February 2012, Fitzgibbons won the first ever Australian Open after defeating 2004 World Champion Sofia Mulanovich, this meant Fitzgibbons will be the first person to ever hold the US and Australian Opens of Surf titles at the one time. On 23 February 2012, at the 2012 ASP World Surfing Awards Fitzgibbons won three awards. First was for being runner up in the 2011 World Tour. Second was for Fitzgibbons and

for winning the Women's ASP Heat of the Year as voted on by their fellow competitors. Lastly she won the ASP Surfers’ Surfer award which is a peer award. 17 March 2012, Fitzgibbons won the 6 star event the Hunter Ports Women's Classic during Surfest at Merewether Beach, Newcastle, Australia. Fitzgibbons defeated

Malia Manuel Malia Manuel (born August 9, 1993) is an American surfer. She won Rookie of the Year in 2012 and was ranked 5th on the 2014 ASP World Tour. In 2008, at the age of 14 she became the youngest surfer ever to win the U.S. Open of Surfing. Surfing C ...

in the final. April 2012, Fitzgibbons won the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach Australia, it was back-to-back wins at Bells for Fitzgibbons. She beat 4 times world champion

in the final. 13 May 2012, Fitzgibbons won the Billabong Rio Pro in Brazil, she was up against

Coco Ho Coco Malia Camille Hapaikekoa Ho (born April 28, 1991) is a professional Hawaiian surfer born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She began surfing at 7 years old, following in the footsteps of her family. Early years At age 7, Coco Ho began following in the ...

in the final. Fitzgibbons won a gold medal at the final qualifying event at the ISA World Games in El Salvador in June 2021 (her fourth ISA Gold medal) in the lead up to the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Tokyo Olympics

Fitzgibbons had qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2019 by finishing in the top eight on the WSL World Tour that year. At the Olympics in the quarterfinal she lost to

Amuro Tsuzuki Amuro Tsuzuki (都筑有夢路, ''Tsuzuki Amuro''; born 5 April 2001) is a Japanese professional surfer. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Women's shortboard, winning a bronze medal. Career In 2019, she won the World Junior cham ...

of Japan and therefore did not compete for a medal finishing 5th.

Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics Australia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia is one of only five ...

details the results in depth.

Career victories

Results

2015 results – 2014 results –
• 5th ASP Roxy Pro, Gold Coast, Australia
• 3rd ASP US Open of Surf,

Margaret River, Western Australia Margaret River is a town in the South West of Western Australia, located in the valley of the eponymous Margaret River, south of Perth, the state capital. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River. Margaret River's coas ...

, Australia
• 3rd ASP Rip Curl Women's Pro, Bells Beach, Australia
• 1st ASP Billabong Pro Rio,

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

• 1st ASP Fiji Pro Fiji, Cloudbreak, Fiji
• 3rd ASP US Open of Surf,

• 2nd ASP Hurley Trestles Pro,

• 5th ASP Roxy Pro France, Hossegor, France
• 2nd ASP EDP Pro Portugal,

Cascais, Portugal Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its mar ...

• 5th ASP Target Pro, Maui, USA 2013 results –
• 1st ASP 6STAR Break Burleigh Pro,

Burleigh Heads, Queensland Burleigh Heads is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Burleigh Heads had a population of 10,077 people. Geography Burleigh Head is a cape () jutting into the Coral Sea at the northern mouth of Tallebudgera Cre ...

, Australia
• 2nd ASP 6STAR Hunter Ports Women's Classic,

Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, ...

• 2nd ASP Roxy Pro, Gold Coast, Australia
• 3rd ASP TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival featuring the Dow AgroSciences Pro,

• 3rd ASP Drug Aware Pro,

, Australia
• 5th ASP Rip Curl Women's Pro, Bells Beach, Australia
• 2nd ASP Billabong Colgate Plax Pro Rio,

• 5th ASP US Open of Surf,

• 1st ASP Roxy Pro France, Hossegor, FRA
• 2nd ASP EDP Billabong Pro, Portugal, PRT 2012 results – Runner-up WT Ranking
• 1st ASP 6STAR Australian Open, Manly, Australia
• 3rd ASP Roxy Pro, Gold Coast, Australia
• 1st ASP 6STAR Hunter Ports Women's Classic, Newcastle, Australia
• 1st ASP Rip Curl Women's Pro, Bells Beach, Australia
• 5th ASP TSB Bank NZ Surf Festival featuring the Dow AgroSciences Pro,

• 5th ASP Beachley Classic, Dee Why, Australia
• 1st ASP Billabong Rio Pro,

• 5th ASP Roxy Pro,

Biarritz, France Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

• 3rd ASP US Open of Surf,

2011 results – Runner-up WT Ranking
• 3rd ASP 6STAR Legendary Pacific Coast Pro, Newcastle, Australia
• 3rd ASP Roxy Pro,

• 3rd ASP Beachley Classic, Dee Why, Australia
• 2nd ASP Billabong Rio Pro,

• 1st ASP 6STAR Swatch Girls Pro, Hossegor, France
• 1st ASP US Open of Surf,

• 3rd ASP Roxy Pro, Gold Coast, Australia
• 1st ASP Rip Curl Women's Pro, Bells Beach, Australia
• 1st ASP Subaru TSB Bank Pro WT,

2010 results – Runner-up WT Ranking * 2nd ASP Movistar Classic WT Peru * 1st ASP Estoril Surf Festival 6 Star WQS Guinch Portugal * 2nd ASP Beachley Classic WT Dee Why Australia * 2nd ASP TSB Bank Pro WT Taranaki New Zealand * 3rd ASP RipCurl Pro WT Bells Beach Australia * 2nd ASP Drug Aware Pro 6Star WQS Margaret River 2009 results – 5th WT Ranking * 3rd ASP Billabong Pro WT Honolua Bay Maui Hawaii * 2nd ASP Gidget Pro WT Sunset Beach Hawaii * 3rd ASP Ripcurl Pro WT Lobitos Peru * 1st ASP Estoril Festival 6 Star WQS Guinch Portugal * 3rd ASP RipCurl Pro WT Bells Beach Australia

Other sports

Fitzgibbons competed in athletics before she started her professional surfing career. She was a national champion winning middle-distance runner in the 800m and 1500m, also winning gold medals in both those events at the 2007 Youth Olympics. She also played touch football and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. She is a third cousin of former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich. As a sports fan, she supports the National Rugby League team the St George Illawarra Dragons and is the ex-partner of former Dragons forward

Trent Merrin Trent Merrin (born 7 October 1989) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL and Australia at international level. He also played for the Dragons, ...

. She is also an

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

fan and follows the

Geelong Cats The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

, her favourite players being Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield.

Notes

References

Mercury Newspaper, Fitzgibbons Runner-Up Yet Again
Source for Results/World Number 2 Ranking.
The Australian Newspaper, Sally On The Crest Of A Wave
Source Emerging Talent.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgibbons, Sally Living people World Surf League surfers 1990 births Australian female surfers Sportswomen from New South Wales Olympic surfers of Australia Surfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics