Australian Sally Fitzgibbon squeaked past Hawaiian Coco Ho in peaky one-to-three foot waves to take title.

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 21, winner of the 2012 Billabong Rio Pro.

BARRA DA TIJUCA, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil (Sunday, May 13, 2012) – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 21, has taken out the Billabong Women’s Rio Pro over Coco Ho (HAW), 21, by a score of 14.10 to 14.03 in peaky one-to-three foot (.5 metre) waves at the primary venue of Barra da Tijuca.

Event No. 5 of 7 on the 2012 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, the Billabong Pro Rio culminated in a thrilling fashion this afternoon with both Fitzgibbons and Ho exchanging the Final’s lead multiple times before the hooter sounded..

In need of a high 7-point ride with just minutes remaining in the heat, Fitzgibbons bashed a blowing lefthander on her backside, notching a 7.93 out of 10 to take the elite win, her second of the year.

“That was so crazy and Coco (Ho) had me on the ropes for sure,” Fitzgibbons said. “I just had my fingers crossed and knew there would be one towards the end. I made a few mistakes and it happens in Finals but I was able to recover there at the end. I’m so excited.”

Sally on her purpose built small-wave stick goes vert. Pic: ASP/Dunbar

Fitzgibbons, current No. 2 on the ASP Women’s WCT, has significantly narrowed the gap between her and current ASP frontrunner Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 24, but remained humble in regards to her chase for the 2012 ASP World Title.

“This makes the World Title race more interesting, but thinking ahead, it’s still pretty far to go,” Fitzgibbons said. “There are still a couple of events, but to get a win, it’s an amazing result. To win at Bells too, it’s been an awesome year so far.”

Ho, who was ranked 12th on the ASP Women’s WCT ratings before the Billabong Rio Pro, had yet to advance beyond the Quarterfinals this year, but her Runner-Up finish to Fitzgibbons vaults the young Hawaiian to 9th in the world and restores her confidence to appropriate levels.

“This result really opens things up for me,” Ho said. “I’ve been having a really tough year and I’m stoked to get into this Final. This is my best result of the year and this has been an important event for me. Congrats to Sally on her win.”

Carissa Moore (HAW), 19, last year’s Billabong Rio Pro winner and reigning ASP Women’s World Champion, was edged out of a hard-fought battle against Fitzgibbons in their high-scoring Semifinal affair. Both competitors posted big-scores in the dying seconds of the heat, but it was Fitzgibbons who earned the best of the exchange, handing Moore and equal 3rd place result.

A career best result from Coco Ho improved her standings on the ASP ratings big time. Pic: ASP/Dunbar

“I think we all want to make the Final and it’s disappointing,” Moore said. “I’ve lost to Sally (Fitzgibbons)twice this year and I’ve just got to keep trying in the next couple of events and that’s it.”

Moore, who was dominant over the course of 2011, has yet to find a win this year, but remains focused on attaining a strong performance to end out the season..

“I think it’s been a bunch of things this year,” Moore said. “I think finding the right waves is one thing overall and I need to switch it up and bring something different out.”

Alessa Quizon (HAW), 18, Billabong Rio Pro wildcard, put in an incredible performance at this year’s event, tearing through the world’s best female surfers and finding her way into the Semifinals. Quizon put up a good fight against fellow Hawaiian Coco Ho, but ultimately fell during last minute exchange, finishing with a respectable equal 3rd place finish overall.

“This has been an amazing event for me,” Quizon said. “I had nothing to lose and it’s been a great learning experience for me and I’m happy that I made it to the Semifinals. I could tell that Coco (Ho) was getting the scores that she needed and I was looking for one big score and I just didn’t find it. Sometimes it happens that way.”

The next stop on the 2012 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour is the Roxy Pro Biarritz from July 10 – 14, 2012

BILLABONG WOMEN’S RIO PRO FINAL RESULT:

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.10

2 – Coco Ho (HAW) 14.03

BILLABONG WOMEN’S RIO PRO SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

Coco Ho (HAW) 14.16 def. Alessa Quizon (HAW) 10.94

SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.47 def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.36

CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WCT TOP 5 (After Billabong Rio Pro):

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 38,400 pts

2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 36,900 pts

3. Carissa Moore (HAW) 30,200 pts

4. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 29,600 pts

5. Tyler Wright (AUS) 28,700 pts