<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today, <strong>Stephanie Gilmore</strong><strong> (AUS)</strong> won the Oi Rio Women’s Pro, Stop No. 4 on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), after a massive day of competition in four-to-five foot (1.2 - 1.5 metre) surf at Itaúna Beach in Saquarema.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Six-time WSL Champion Gilmore battled through four rounds today, taking down <strong>Lakey Peterson</strong><strong> (USA) </strong>in the Final, <strong>Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)</strong> in the Semifinals, <strong>Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)</strong> in the Quarterfinals, and <strong>Caroline Marks (USA)</strong> in Round 3. Not only does Gilmore’s win mark her 28th CT victory but also her first CT win in Brazil. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“That was a really crucial Final because Lakey (Peterson) has had a win and I’ve had a win,” said Gilmore. “I just want it. I want it really bad and that is what it takes. It feels good. I just love competing. It is such a good challenge to be out there and to have this stage to perform on is really special. I’ve been doing this for a while but it never gets old. This is just the beginning.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the loss, Peterson is in a strong position to hunt down her first World Title this season. The Californian started her year with a big win on the Gold Coast and continues to raise the bar at each event. En route to her runner-up result, Peterson dispatched crowd-favorite <strong>Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW)</strong> in the Semifinals and three-time WSL Champion <strong>Carissa Moore (HAW) </strong>in the Quarterfinals. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“A World Title is my goal,” said Peterson. “I am just trying to take it one event at a time. I feel like the momentum is working for me right now, but it is also working for Steph (Gilmore) right now. She is obviously in a great groove and she’s got an extra win on top of me, and I am aware of that. She’s such a phenomenal competitor and surfer.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The men’s event completed Round 4 following women’s Round 3 and determined the remaining eight Quarterfinalists. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Filipe Toledo (BRA)</strong> unleashed the Oi Rio Pro’s first Perfect 10 with a massive aerial rotation in Round 4 Heat 1. The crowd went wild when Toledo flew through the air to land the 360-degree rotation and again when the Judges awarded him with the perfect score. Toledo marches through the to Quarterfinals with rookie <strong>Michael Rodrigues (BRA)</strong>, while event-spoiler <strong>Ian Gouveia (BRA)</strong> is eliminated with his best result of the season. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“That was actually a little scary against the boys,” said Toledo. “I knew Ian (Gouveia) and Michael (Rodrigues) could have gotten better backup scores to turn the heat. As soon as I saw Michael paddle to the inside, I wanted to make sure Ian wasn’t alone. That wave came my way, and that was the perfect timing for it. It wasn’t great for doing turns but that perfect section came and I knew it was time to go big.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>John John Florence (HAW)</strong>, the 2016 event winner and reigning WSL Champion, was eliminated by rookies <strong>Yago Dora (BRA)</strong> and <strong>Wade Carmichael (AUS)</strong> in the final heat of men's Round 4 today. Dora kept extremely busy throughout the heat with seven waves to Florence’s three. The two-time WSL Champion was unable to complete his rides, unlike his stunning performance yesterday. Florence will exit Brazil in Equal 9th place and will now focus on the upcoming Corona Bali Pro. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Current World No. 1 <strong>Julian Wilson (AUS)</strong> is in a prime position to retain the Jeep Leader Jersey after winning his Round 4 heat today against <strong>Kolohe Andino (USA)</strong> and <strong>Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)</strong>. Andino’s second place position in the heat will put him against Toledo. Igarashi’s third-place standing in the heat eliminates him from the draw. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Gabriel Medina (BRA)</strong>, 2017 World Title runner-up to Florence, will try to take advantage of his Quarterfinal entry and Florence’s elimination. Medina will face rookie Carmichael in Quarterfinal 3 when competition resumes. </div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Oi Rio Pro Women’s Final Results:</strong></div><div><strong>1 </strong>- Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.53</div><div><strong>2</strong> - Lakey Peterson (USA) 8.00</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Oi Rio Pro Women’s Semifinal Results:</strong></div><div><strong>SF 1</strong>: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.00 def. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 9.67</div><div><strong>SF 2</strong>: Lakey Peterson (USA) 11.27 def. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 10.40</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Oi Rio Pro Women’s Quarterfinal Results:</strong></div><div><strong>QF 1</strong>: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.06 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 10.00</div><div><strong>QF 2</strong>: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 10.83 def. Keely Andrew (AUS) 5.77</div><div><strong>QF 3</strong>: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 15.33 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 4.60</div><div><strong>QF 4</strong>: Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.67 def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 9.57</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Oi Rio Pro Women’s Round 3 Results:</strong></div><div><strong>Heat 1</strong>: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 11.17, Keely Andrew (AUS) 9.64, Tyler Wright (AUS) 6.17</div><div><strong>Heat 2</strong>: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 14.36, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.50, Caroline Marks (USA) 4.67</div><div><strong>Heat 3</strong>: Silvana Lima (BRA) 15.90, Lakey Peterson (USA) 15.23, Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.16 </div><div><strong>Heat 4</strong>: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.33, Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 11.50, Sage Erickson (USA) 11.34</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>2018 WSL Women's CT Jeep Leaderboard (After Oi Rio Pro):</strong></div><div><strong>1</strong> - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 29,490 pts</div><div><strong>2</strong> - Lakey Peterson (USA) 25,630 pts</div><div><strong>3</strong> - Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 20,020 pts</div><div><strong>4 </strong>- Carissa Moore (HAW) 18,980 pts</div><div><strong>5</strong> - Caroline Marks (USA) 17,000 pts</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Oi Rio Men’s Pro Round 4 Results:</strong></div><div><strong>Heat 1</strong>: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18.33, Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 10.94, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 8.00 </div><div><strong>Heat 2</strong>: Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.73, Kolohe Andino (USA) 11.90, Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 9.43</div><div><strong>Heat 3</strong>: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.84, Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 9.73, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.00 </div><div><strong>Heat 4</strong>: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.94, Wade Carmichael (AUS) 11.40, John John Florence (HAW) 8.00</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Oi Rio Men’s Pro Quarterfinal Matchups:</strong></div><div><strong>QF 1</strong>: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)</div><div><strong>QF 2</strong>: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA)</div><div><strong>QF 3</strong>: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Wade Carmichael (AUS)</div><div><strong>QF 4</strong>: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>