Alana Blanchard wins Hawaiian Pro

Alana Blanchard from Kauai scored an uplifting victory by winning the Vans Hawaiian Pro women’s surfing contest. Blanchard is in her rookie season on the ASP Women’s World Tour, and is considered a rising star. The one-day event was completed in wave-face heights of 2 to 6 feet at Hale’iwa Ali’i Beach.

The Hawaiian Pro is the first of three events in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, and the world’s top female surfers participated in the contest. Most significant, Alana came from behind to defeat the defending world champion and current No. 1 ranked Stephanie Gilmore of Australia in the final. Gilmore had the lead for the first 25 minutes of the 30-minute final heat, but Blanchard took the lead with five minutes remaining when she completed several precise turns on a fast-closing wave. The judges rewarded her with a 7.83 (out of 10), which was the best wave score of the final.

In the end, just 1.12 points was the difference. Blanchard’s final two-wave tally was 14.06, Gilmore finished with a total score of 13.04, Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich placed third, and Rebecca Woods of Australia was fourth.

“I’m not sure if she had the confidence before this,” her father, Holt, said. “But now she knows she can win on this level. This really proves something to her.” Alana is also a rising star in the modeling world, and is one of the most photographed surfers on the women’s tour. “I think there’s a stigma out there that she’s this beautiful girl and that’s the only reason why she gets publicity,” her father said. “Well, she proved today that she can surf with the best of them.”

Alana now holds the early lead in the women’s race for the prestigious Triple Crown championship. The next contest in the series is the Gidget Pro at Sunset Beach. “This win means a lot to me because I’m from Hawai’i and ever since I was little I wanted to do the Triple Crown.”