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LENNOX HEAD’S Tyler Wright has won her maiden world surfing title sparking emotional scenes on the beach at Hossegor in France.
The 22-year-old claimed the title when her only rival, America’s Courtney Conlogue, was toppled in the semi-finals on Thursday (AEDT).
Tyler, who took out Tatiana Weston-Webb in her semi-final, would go on to lose to three-time world champ Carissa Moore, who beat Conlogue, in the final but it did not matter.
“There’s a lot that’s gone into this, a lot of hours. A lot of fun,” said Tyler, who won four events this year.
The breakthrough victory caps a difficult 12 months for Tyler, whose brother Owen has endured a very public recovery from a serious brain injury suffered while competing.
Less well known has been her private battles dealing with the death of her uncle, to whom she promised a world title.
“There’s a lot of reasons why I set out to win this world title this year, a lot of reasons I didn’t mention to the public,” Tyler said.
“Last year was such a hectic year, even this year … I lost an uncle and this was his last event that he ever saw me compete in.”