Gabriela Bryan: The surfing rookie making waves on the WSL Championship Tour
The 20-year-old Hawaiian surfer is on the brink of making the WSL mid-season cut-off and could become the only rookie to do so.
Surfing
Fresh-faced and on the verge of making surfing history.
Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan is on the cusp of doing what her fellow rookie class of 2022 couldn't - survive the World Surf League's (WSL) new mid-season cut from the Championship Tour (CT).
The 20-year-old is through to the semi-finals of the Margaret River Pro - the fifth stop on the CT - and crucially where the 18-woman field will be reduced to just 12.
Eight women have already made the cut, and two wild cards will be awarded after this competition concludes, leaving two remaining spots to be determined by the upcoming heats in Western Australia.
This is where Bryan needs to rise to the occasion, needing to overcome USA's Courtney Conlogue in order to progress to the final.
Stepping up when it matters
The Hawaiian has already proved she's capable of beating the best this season. She defeated seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore at the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach in February.
Bryan, who has been surfing since she was four, acknowledges she's competing against her icons.
"Ever since I was a little girl this was my dream to be on the Championship Tour, I would watch Carissa (Moore), Steph and was like, I want to do that someday.
"I still look up to them but when the horn blows something kind of switches and it's like, oh I just want to beat them," Bryan says.
Before the season got underway she told the WSL, "This group of girls is a tough group of girls. Every single one of us is capable of shaking a lot of things up and it should be an exciting year."
That sure has been the case so far.
Over the weekend CT veteran and Olympian Sally Fitzgibbons was eliminated from the tour after falling outside of midseason cut-off line. The 31-year-old Australian now needs to compete in the Challenger Series to qualify for the 2023 tour. This will be crucial for Paris 2024 Olympic qualification.
Honing her craft in Hawaii and Indonesia
Gabriela Bryan was raised surfing a variety of powerful waves, both in her hometown of Kilauea on the Island of Kaua'i but also on the Island of Nias on the west coast of Indonesia.
Bryan's father helped to rebuild the community near Nias after the horrific Boxing day tsunami in 2004, so she spent plenty of time in the water there.
This experience has enabled her to surf with a grit and confidence beyond her age.
It's also been instrumental in her transition from junior competitions to pro. In 2019 she won the ISA World Juniors (Girls U-18) and in the same year she defended her Sunset Pro Junior Champs title.
Come 2020 and the momentum continued when she won the Challenger Series, which ultimately helped her secure a spot on the 2022 CT.
She might be green to the 'dream tour' and all that comes with it, but early indications are that she has a long and promising career ahead of her, especially if she does in fact become the first rookie on tour to make the WSL mid-season cut.
Women’s Championship Tour: The eight who have made the cut
- Carissa Moore (HAW/USA)
- Tyler Wright (AUS)
- Brisa Hennessy (CRC)
- Lakey Peterson (USA)
- Johanne Defay (FRA)
- Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
- Courtney Conlogue (USA)
- Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA)
- Remaining two spots will be decided by the upcoming heats of Margaret River Pro.
If Bryan is able to earn the points needed and make the mid-season cut, here's what the rest of the 2022 Championship Tour looks like for her.
- G-Land, Indonesia – May 28 – June 6
- Trestles, USA – June 15 – 22
- Saquarema, Brazil – June 27 – July 4
- Jeffreys Bay, South Africa – July 9 – 18
- Teahupo’o, Tahiti – August 11 – 21
WSL Finals - Top five ranked surfers will compete on one day for the 2022 men’s and women’s world titles.
- Rip Curl WSL Finals, Trestles, USA – September 7 – 18