Peru’s Mulanovich Wins Surfing Title
Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich won her first world surfing championship on Saturday, but she also put an end to the six-year reign of Australia’s Layne Beachley and became the first surfer from South America to claim the title.
“All I want to do right now is go out with the girls and party,” she said in a telephone interview.
Mulanovich, 21, was declared champion after finishing second in the Roxy Pro Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu. Beachley, 32, won the season’s next-to-last World Championship Tour event in choppy six-foot surf, but the high finish by Mulanovich ensured enough points to hold off her nearest challenger, Oahu’s Rochelle Ballard.
Mulanovich has won three tour events this season. It was Beachley’s first tour win of the season but the 26th of her career.
“I’m going out with a sense of achievement and a sense of relief,” she said.
The women’s tour concludes with the Billabong Pro Dec. 8-19 on Maui.
-- Pete Thomas
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