Sally Fitzgibbons is 20 years old, has just won Bells for her first World Title win, and is helping sweep the cobwebs from women’s surfing. Us folks here at Pop couldn’t be more stoked. Sally claimed her maiden ASP Women’s World Title event win after a hard-fought final with current ASP Women’s World No. 1 Carissa Moore, the 18-year-old from Hawaii.

That Sally did it in some of the best surf ever seen for the women’s event at Bells only adds to her achievement. The final was held in glassy 3-4 foot waves at  Bells, and after finishing runner-up three times on tour last year for a world no.2 ranking in 2010, Sally broke through.

“This is so overwhelming,” she said. “It’s been a long journey for me to finally win and this is incredible. I can’t feel my arms or legs and I’m just trying to keep from crying right now. It’s been a really long time coming and I want to thank all the girls for pushing me as well as all my family and friends who have supported me over the years.”

“It’s extra special to win it this year for the 50 years event,” Fitzgibbons said. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always watched my heroes surf and win here and I’ve always dreamed of ringing the Bell and now that it’s happened, I don’t know what to say. The other night at the 50-year ball, I saw all my icons on stage and I was so inspired. So to win right now is a dream come true.”

As for Carrisa, she continued her rampage amongst the world’s best here at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, and the gracious Hawaiian remains firmly in the driver’s seat in this year’s hunt for the ASP Women’s World Title

“I’m stoked to have made the Final with Sally,” Moore said. “For her to come out on top was awesome. We’ve had a lot of good clashes last year and this year, and her win’s been a long time coming so congrats to her. Of course I would have liked to have rung the Bell, but that may have to happen next year.”

Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 23, reigning four-time ASP Women’s World Champion, enjoyed more of a return to form at Bells Beach, but the former three-time event winner was unable to overcome a rampaging Fitzgibbons in their Semifinal clash. Today’s Equal 3rd place finish has Gilmore sitting in ASP Women’s World No. 4 heading into the New Zealand event.

“I felt really good this event, my surfing felt more confident,” Gilmore said. “I’m happy with my performance, but hopefully I’m just building towards No. 1. Sally (Fitzgibbons) was so in form, she was throwing away scores that I was keeping as my top two, she’s well deserving of the win.”

The next stop on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title season will be the Subaru Pro TSB Bank Women’s Surf Festival in Taranaki, New Zealand from April 27 – May 1, 2011.

Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by FORD will be available via www.live.ripcurl.com and broadcast live on Fuel TV in Australia and ESPN in Brazil.

The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Ranger completed Round 4 of competition this morning with Joel Parkinson, Kelly Slater, Jordy Smith, and Mick Fanning, all advancing straight through to the Quarterfinals.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7am to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start.

When the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford Rangers resumes, up first will be Owen Wright against Bede Durbidge in the opening heat of Round 5.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.77
2 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.40

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.10 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 12.60
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.37 def Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.60

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 15.57 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.60
QF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.34 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 5.90
QF 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.00 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 11.44
QF 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.56 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 14.53

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 14.50 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 8.50
Heat 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 12.50 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 12.04
Heat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) 13.60 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 12.47
Heat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.83 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 11.50

ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE TOP 5 (After Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach):
1. Carissa Moore (HAW) 18,000 pts
2. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16,400 pts
3. Tyler Wright (AUS) 13,200 pts
4. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11,700 pts
5. Silvana Lima (BRA) 11,700 pts

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.26, Owen Wright (AUS) 13.84, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.14
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.67, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.17, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.04
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.27, Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.37, Tiago Pires (PRT) 11.63
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 19.10, Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.17, Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.40

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 5 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Heat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Heat 3: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 4: Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)