After suffering quick exits in the first two events of the season, eight-time world champion Steph Gilmore rebounded at her home break, winning her first heat of the 2026 Championship Tour at Snapper Rocks.
She lost a nail-biter to Erin Brooks at Margaret River, but this time Gilmore got the better of the 18-year-old phenom. Despite a last-minute 7.3 score from Brooks, her heat total of 12.63 came up just short. Gilmore’s 13.26 total was enough to advance her into round two for the first time this season.
Gilmore, who is coming off a two-year hiatus from the tour, admitted that she felt out of practice at the first two stops.
“I’m rusty. I’m not going to lie,” Gilmore said in her post-heat interview. “I’ve had two seasons off, so (I had) to get through those first two heats and get back in the motion of things. And I feel like my advice from Snake (Jake Patterson) was just, catch waves, get in a rhythm. That was the most important thing.”
Gilmore praised Brooks for her talent and the bright future she has on the professional tour.
“Erin is such a tough competitor, right at the end, I thought she got the score,” Gilmore said. “She is so smart and strategic. We both have the same coach, so it was actually hilarious.”
“(Erin) is very staunch,” Gilmore added. “(She) definitely has a fierceness to her where you can see she’ll be a world champion, 100 percent. She’s just putting the pieces together, and she’ll get there. The whole generation of young girls is just blowing my mind. I’m so happy to be here, be a part of it, and get one heat win.”
Next, Gilmore will face off against Bettylou Sakura Johnson. And to advance deeper in the event, she has young talents like Caity Simmers, Caroline Marks, and Gabriela Bryan on her side of the bracket.
“I know I have to keep going to the next level if I want to keep winning these heats,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore will continue to lean into her experience at Snapper against the younger competitors. She’s surfed 68 CT heats on the Gold Coast with 48 heat wins, seven finals appearances, 28 excellent heats, and 44 excellent waves (greater than eight points).
