Molly Picklum has come agonisingly close to taking another World Surf League title before having to give second best to reigning world champ Caitlin Simmers in a dramatic final at the Abu Dhabi wave pool.
Picklum, the rising 22-year-old from Gosford, fought back superbly in the man-made waves on Hudayriyat Island, taking the showdown against the American to the very last ride on Sunday.
A clutch 7.70-point last-ditch effort from Picklum to recapture the lead forced Simmers to score 7.04 or more on her final ride to take her sixth WSL title.
So when the teenager took a tumble near the end of an impressive ride, both she and Picklum were left agonising over whether she'd actually done enough as they waited anxiously side-by-side to learn the judges' verdict.
"This is so close," Picklum said aloud.
So close, but yet so far, as it turned out.
For when Simmers' score of 7.43 flashed up, the judges having decided the quality of her early routine had tipped the scales her way, the American was left whooping with delight as she realised she had prevailed by just 0.40 points, 16.10 to 15.70.
Picklum had earlier made her way to the showdown by defeating Canadian Erin Brooks in the quarter-final (14.50 to 13.03) and Frenchwoman Vahine Fierro (13.77 to 10.53) in the semis.
But 19-year-old Simmers, clearly the best surfer throughout the event, did enough to earn her sixth straight win over the Australian, who has yet to defeat her in a WSL head-to-head.
The victory put the reigning champ Simmers back on pole in the WSL standings on 17,800 points, with Picklum second on 13,885 and her fellow Aussie Tyler Wright third on 12,610.
The loss provided the anti-climactic end to what had for a while looked set to be a red-letter day for the Australian surfers, with both Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson having qualified for the men's semi-finals.
But their bid to make it into an all-Aussie final was scuppered when Ewing, the 26-year-old Queenslander who was fifth in last year's championship, was beaten by Rio Waida 15.93 to 15.70, after the Indonesian pulled out a decisive 7.50-point second ride.
Olympic silver medallist Robinson, fourth in last year's championship, ran into inspired Brazilian hall of famer Italo Ferreira, the former Olympic champion who delivered a couple of magnificent alley-oops en route to winning 17.37 to 15.03.
The 30-year-old Ferreira then maintained his vintage form to win the final against Waida 17.27 to 14.50.
The Brazilian now leads the overall men's championship on 16,085 points, with Ewing the top Aussie in fourth place on 9405. Robinson is eighth on 7415.
