Thomas Victor Carroll (born 26 November 1961,

Newport, New South Wales Newport is a suburb of northern Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. It is part of the Northern Beaches region. History Prior to European colonisation, the Newport are ...

, Australia) is an Australian former professional surfer from Sydney. He won the Australian Junior Title in 1978, the Pro Juniors in 1977 and 1980, the 1983 and 1984 ASP World Tour, and the 1987 Pipe Masters. He became the first surfing millionaire after signing a contract with Quiksilver in 1989.

Pro tour highlights

Carroll made the finals of the 1979 Pipe Masters as a world tour rookie, finishing 24th in the world that same year. He continued to ascend from 17th to 10th to 3rd before taking the world title in 1983 (winning 6 of 13 events) and distinguishing himself as the first goofy foot world champion. The following year he answered the challenge from veteran Shaun Tomson to win the championship again. In 1985, he boycotted the South African leg of the tour in protest against apartheid and subsequently fell behind Tom Curren. Carroll finished 2nd the following year. In 1988, he made history again by becoming the first surfer to secure a million dollar contract (with Quiksilver). He finished third that year and again in 1991 (taking the Triple Crown the same year) before retiring in 1993. In total, Carroll took 26 career world tour wins, three Pipe Masters victories (87, 90, and 91), and two world titles.

Media career

Carroll and fellow Australian big wave surfer

Ross Clarke-Jones Ross Clarke-Jones (6 June 1966) is an Australian big wave surfer. He originally came from Terrigal in the Central Coast, of New South Wales, Australia where he enjoyed surfing Terrigal Haven, a point break that produces rare waves lasting for ...

currently travel the world searching for large swells for the Discovery Channel television series Storm Surfers. In 2012, he appeared in the film '' Storm Surfers 3D''.

Awards and inductions

Carroll won the 1984 Surfer Poll and was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1991, he won Australia's Surfing Life Peer Poll and 8 years later was inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfing Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 1992. He was voted in at Number 7 on Surfer Magazine's list of the "Greatest Surfers of All Time". A portrait of him by artist Jan Williamson was hung in the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

in 2000.

Drug use

Carroll has experienced stimulant addiction, most notably 'Ice'. He has since rehabilitated and warns others about the use of stimulants, saying that the path to ice addiction is slippery and fraught with danger. In 2015 he participated in a documentary with Australia's ABC TV warning casual users not to be foolhardy.

Video game appearances

Carroll is a playable character in the video game '' Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Tom 1961 births World Surf League surfers Living people Australian surfers Sportsmen from New South Wales People from the North Shore, Sydney Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Sydney Big wave surfers Tow-in surfers