Forty years after his mother rang the iconic Bells Beach trophy, Ethan Ewing has triumphed in an all-Australian final against Ryan Callinan.
In the women’s decider Tyler Wright successfully defended her title, dominating another local in World Surf League rankings leader Molly Picklum.
Ewing and Wright became the first dual Australian champions at Bells since Mick Fanning and Sally Fitzgibbons in 2012.
A trail-blazer for women’s surfing, Ewing’s late mother Helen Lambert won the title in 1983, splitting a 10-year domination by American surfers.
He has spoken of how she was an inspiration for his career.
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“It’s been my biggest goal, in my career, to win this as all of my heroes have won this … including my mum,” Ewing said of Lambert, who passed away when he was six.
“It’s an honour to compete here and put my name up there with those, it’s really special.”
The 24-year-old, from Queensland’s Stradbroke Island, was denied last year by eventual champion Filipe Toledo, but took revenge by eliminating the Brazilian in the semi-finals.
Ranked world No.10, Ewing was rewarded for some smart surfing on a marathon day on Tuesday at the famed Victorian surf coast break.
He conserved his energy, going for quality over quantity as he picked out the best waves of each heat as he moved through the rounds.
Ewing went all out in the final, surfing 11 waves with his score of 14.50 trumping Callinan’s two-wave total of 11.00.
It was his second WSL title after winning at South Africa’s J-Bay last year.
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From Newcastle, 30-year-old Callinan had never gone beyond a semi-final in a CT event, with this performance securing his place in the top 24 after he missed the mid-season cut last year.
Wright set the pace in her final against 20-year-old Picklum, laying down back-to-back scores for a combined tally of 16.00.
Picklum fell short with a two-wave score of 12.00.
“I didn’t think much of this week … last year there was so much emotion in it as it took me 12 years to try and get the first one,” Wright said.
“It’s moments like these that mean the world to me and to execute this week the way I have, I’m really proud.”
Picklum will remain rankings leader heading into the next event at Margaret River.
