WITH a bulky brace on her knee reminding her how lucky she was to even be surfing, Australian Tyler Wright has defended her world crown of surfing at the Maui Pro in Hawaii.
Wright only needed to win her quarter-final heat against dangerous wildcard Brisa Hennessy to secure her second world title.
And the 23-year-old tackled the task with gusto, posting two strong scores to combo the young Hawaiian who had taken out Sally Fitzgibbons earlier in the event.
Wright pointed at the sky in triumph and hugged Hennessy in delight when the world title was secure.
“Wow. It’s, yep, it’s kinda weird because I was so excited up the hill and so excited to be in this position,” an overwelmed Wright said.
“All through the year, little ups and downs, I was happy before I won, and I’m happy now.”
Wright thanked her mum and family for travelling to Hawaii to watch her win and paid tribute to coach, former pro surfer Glenn Hall.
“I did think about it (going back to back). I decided in 2015 I wanted to win every year and I’ll hold true to that.
“Back-to-back is a testamant to his (Hall’s) dedication. It takes a team to do this. “
Wright’s American rival for the title heading into the Maui event, Courtney Conlogue, was beaten by Phillip Island surfer Nikki van Dijk in round four.
The 16.10 to 9.33 quarter-final victory over Hennessy saw Wright become the 23rd women’s world crown of surfing for Australia.
The victory comes after Wright tore 70 per cent of her MCL off the bone two days before the world tour event in Portugal in September.
Few gave Wright even the slimmest chance of recovering in time from the injury and be able to surf out the season. But she again defied the odds.
“To go through a knee injury and to still win the world title is unbelievable,” said six-time world champion Steph Gilmore who won her quarter-final at the Maui Open against Peruvian Silvana Lima.
Watching Wright achieve the feat in Hawaii was coach Glenn Hall.
“She’s such an incredible human. It’s cool to be part of her life. She’s fun to be with and she rips,” he said as he watched Wright win her fourth round.
Wright last year won her world title while dealing with a rollercoaster of emotional after her brother Owen Wright suffered a brain injury in a wipeout at Pipeline in late 2015.
This season she got to see her brother return to the world tour and win the opening leg of the series, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.