Tatiana Weston-Webb is coming to terms with creating history following her perfect 10 at the Tahiti Pro.
Weston-Webb became the first woman to post a perfect score for a wave at the revered Teahupo'o, achieving the feat in her semifinal against local wildcard Vahiné Fierro.
Despite going down to Fierro, who went on to win the final, Brazilian Weston-Webb summed up her history-making performance when she said: "What a moment for women's surfing."
Adding to the significance of Weston-Webb's achievement was the fact the Tahiti Pro women's competition was not contested between 2007 and 2021, as event organisers had safety concerns.
"It was obviously a bomb, [I had] really good direction," Weston-Webb said after scoring her perfect 10.
"I knew I needed to get a good score to try to make the heat. When I was paddling and looking down, I was like, 'OK, just make the drop and then you can make the barrel.'
"I caught a little edge and then from there I was like 'stay calm', and then all of a sudden it was just like a tunnel in front of me and I did a pump.
"When I came out, I honestly couldn't believe it. I was just beyond myself, screaming."
The World Surf League described Weston-Webb's effort as "quite possibly one of the best barrels ever ridden in competition".
Fierro, who has qualified to represent France at the Paris Olympics, was the feel-good story of the women's event.
She beat Weston-Webb 17.70 to 16.07 in their semifinal, before trumping Costa Rica's world number one Brisa Hennessy (15.17) to 12.00) in the final.
"Just being against the best in the world, and learning from their experiences, their competitive skills, it just pushes everybody," Fierro said.
"That's what women need, we just need conditions and we're going to show up, we're going to throw ourselves over the ledge and try and try and try, over again."
Australians Tyler Wright and Molly Picklum were beaten in the quarterfinals by Weston-Webb and Fierro respectively.
ABC/wires