Isabella Nichols Celebrates ‘Best Day of Her Life’ at Bells Beach 

Less than two weeks after finishing runner-up at the Surf City El Salvador Pro, Isabella Nichols (AUS) has claimed victory at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, overcoming Luana Silva (BRA) in an epic Final on the Bells Bowl. After falling short of the Mid-season Cut for the last couple of seasons, today’s result has put the young Australian up to fourth on the rankings, as she now shifts her focus to her home event on the CT. Today marks Nichols’ second CT victory from four Finals, and by her own omission, this is the sweetest.

“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling right now. This is definitely the best day of my life,” Nichols said. “Ever since winning in Margaret River three years ago, I’ve just been chasing this feeling ever since, and I never thought that feeling could be topped, but getting carried up the stairs by my dad and coach and having most of my family here, it’s just an emotion I can’t describe. Every year I come here and look at those stairs and the names on them, and the thought of having my name on there amongst all of those others is such a dream.”

From the opening exchange of the Final, Nichols looked destined for the win, finding one of the best waves of the 40-minute matchup, and not wasting a moment, laying massive rail turns and snapping out of the lip with pure commitment to post an 8.33 (out of a possible 10) while Silva on the wave behind managed a 6.67. On her next scoring wave, Nichols posted a 7.93 for a heat total of 16.26 (out of a possible 20), which was too much for Silva to chase down, leaving Nichols to join an illustrious list of Bells winners from over six decades of competition at this famed stretch of coast.

“A comp win is a comp win, but being proud of your performance you’ve put in through the week and through the month is something different,” Nichols continued. “How you surf is one thing but for me it’s so much about the decisions you make in a heat and I’ve been coming out of the water proud of that and feeling like I’m in a rhythm for the first time is great because I’ve lost a loit of heats from not making good decisions. I’ve been coming to Bells for years, training in conditions like this, so I felt really ready for today.”

Silva Leaves Bells Beach with Career-Best CT Result 

2024 World Junior Champion Luana Silva (BRA) will leave Bells Beach with the biggest result of her young career, finishing runner-up at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Silva was in great form all week, and her tight arcing turns perfectly matched the power of the Bells Bowl. On her way to the Final, Silva overcame Bells standouts Lakey Peterson (USA) and Brisa Hennessy (CRC) in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals, respectively and has now moved to 11th on the Rankings, and much closer to moving above the Mid-season Cut line. 

“I’m really proud of my performance,” Silva said. “I’m glad I overcame some mental blocks, mental obstacles that I wasn’t overcoming in the beginning. It’s a huge achievement for me. It’s a step in the right direction to get past the mid-year cut, because the last two years, I haven’t made it past that. So, I feel really good about the next event, and I just want more after this. Because after coming in second place, you always want more, I feel. But, yeah, I couldn’t be more proud of myself and the way I was so determined the whole event. I’m already excited for the next one.”

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Final Results: 
1 – Isabella Nichols (AUS) 16.26
2 – Luana Silva (BRA) 12.67

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Luana Silva (BRA) vs. Brisa Hennessy (CRC)
HEAT 2: Isabella Nichols (AUS) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)