Surfer's title win matches late mother's success

The triumph saw Ethan Ewing determination up from fig 10 to fig 4 successful the World Surf League rankings

Australian surfer Ethan Ewing won the Rip Curl Pro men's rubric astatine Bells Beach 40 years aft his precocious parent Helen won the women's trophy.

Ewing was six erstwhile his parent Helen died successful 2005 of bosom cancer, aged 39.

"I've been reasoning astir her since I person been connected the circuit and it's been a immense extremity of mine. I privation to bash her proud" said Ewing, 24.

In 1983, Helen Lambert won the women's rubric to corroborate her presumption arsenic a large endowment successful the athletics astatine the property of conscionable 18.

Decades later, connected matching his mother's achievement, Ewing added: "I've had her trophy adjacent to my furniture beauteous overmuch my full beingness and looked astatine that and dreamt of it. Seeing her sanction connected the stairs [on the locomotion towards Bells Beach] and present having my sanction determination is so, truthful special.

"It's been my biggest extremity successful my vocation to triumph this. All my heroes person won this - Joel [Parkinson], Mick [Fanning], Kelly [Slater], the girls - Steph [Gilmore], Carissa [Moore], and past my mum backmost successful '83. It is an honour to vie here. To enactment my sanction up determination with her - it's truly special."

Ewing, 24, bushed Brazilian three-time WSL champion Gabriel Medina successful the past 16 earlier dominating successful the all-Australian last against Ryan Callinan for his 2nd WSL title.

He is the archetypal Australian antheral to triumph the rubric since Matt Wilkinson successful 2016.

Surfing made its debut astatine the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and volition beryllium held successful Tahiti, French Polynesia astatine the Paris 2024 Games.