We caught up with Sal as she walked out the door bags in hand bound for Peru. We talked tour, training and other randomness with the current World Number 2...
Q: With nine stops on this year's tour and heading into event five we're at the halfway point. How you feeling?
A: I’m feeling the most comfortable I have felt on tour since I qualified. I'm enjoying all the travel and hanging out with my friends on tour. It's been so great having back-to-back events, I love competing and am really excited heading into Peru.
You have made the final series of every event you have surfed in this year including two runner-up finishes in the last two World Tour events. Do you feel like you're closing in on that maiden WT win?
Many people have been telling me that that maiden win is just around the corner and I believe that. My focus is not purely on the win; it is more like the cherry on top. I have just been focusing on improving my surfing and building throughout these events and not getting too far ahead of myself. It would be a dream to take out an event one of these days.
You won the 6 Star Estoril Billabong Girls comp in Portugal for a second time in May. What did that win do for your confidence?
To take the win in Portugal was a great confidence boost. It is a familiar hunting ground. I enjoy the culture, waves and food and I’m looking forward to going back for World Tour event in Peniche.
You always look fit and healthy but this year it looks like you have stepped it up a notch. Have you changed up you training program from 2009?
This year I feel much stronger and have had to step it up to stay injury free and make sure I don't have a repeat of last year. I'm enjoying my training and love learning about how my body is moving and feeling.
It seems every tour surfer has a solid support team behind them these days. Who makes up your entourage and what do they contribute to your campaign?
Behind every surfer is a great support network, it's a long year on the road and it serves you well to be in good company and with your loved ones. For me, my entourage chops and changes but the past couple of years my Dad has travelled with me. He has been great support and it's just so much more comfortable having a parent with me for events. I also have Dan Ross my coach that Red Bull have made possible, it's really great to learn from Rossy, I value everything that he says. I then have my great network of sponsors who make all that I do possible (Roxy, Etnies, DHD, Boost Mobile, FCS, Gorilla and Sex Wax).
How have training trips like the Red Bull Mentawai trip and Project Air helped you?
Red Bull have provided such great opportunities to train specific areas of the teams surfing. Not only is it just a great environment to learn in when the whole team comes together, with the abundance of talent and funny personalities. The Red Bull Mentawais Trip was the best trip I have been on to date and helped kick start the back half of my first World Tour campaign. Project Air which was held this past January was just eye opening and I just absorbed a lot of info and loved skating the ramp. They make visions and ideas come to life and they have helped me in a big way.
There's more stops on tour this year which means the World Title race is more a marathon than a sprint. We saw last year in the men's title race between Fanning and Parko how momentum can change. Do you think Stephanie Gilmore can be stopped in 2010?
I do believe it is a long year and more of a marathon. Being in the position I am it is going to be no easy feat to take down the World Champ, but I am ready to take each event as it comes and I'm going to give it everything. Taking risks is what is needed to take the top spot, pushing your own boundaries. I think of it like the TV show the Amazing Race and I'm ready and up for a fun race.
You're no stranger to marathons having represented your country as a long-distance runner as a teen. Keeping your head together during the course of a competitive season must be difficult. Are you able to apply any of that mental toughness you built up from your athletics career to your competitive surfing?
My athletics career gave me a strong base to work from. There are definitely things I can apply to my surfing that are similar in the mental toughness category. I quite enjoy the long seasons and placing together the pieces of the puzzle as I go along.
Has anyone ever referred to you as the Mick Fanning of the women's World Tour? You have similar qualities, as kids you excelled as long-distance runners, you're especially committed to training and you both have very competitive natures. Is Mick an inspiration to you?
It's an honour to be referred to as having similar qualities as Mick Fanning the 2 x World Champ. I definitely find inspiration from following Mick's journey, he is one of my favourite surfers and it's a privilege to have worked with him at Red Bull training camps. He is a great role model and ambassador for this sport.
New Zealand was a new stop to the Women's World Tour, how did you rate it and are you looking forward to the other new additions to the schedule?
Having New Zealand as a new stop on the World Tour this year was fantastic. The event was a great success and I enjoyed the town of Taranaki. We had great waves and I thoroughly look forward to the event being held there for years to come. I welcome, as do all the girls on tour, any new additions to the schedule. The Women's tour is definitely moving in the right direction by expanding and it will be great to see even more events for 2011.
Peru is the next stop on tour. Have you been there before? What do you know about the wave?
I am currently travelling to Peru. Last year being my first time over here for an event and I really enjoyed the vibe of it all. There are amazing wave set ups, welcoming people and passionate surf fans. This year the event has moved back into the city of Lima. I'm looking forward to an excellent event and I have a Red Bull performance camp before the event gets under way which will be a great way to become familiar with the area.
The last four stops on tour can present some serious swell. Being a NSW south coast girl and after such strong performances in Hawaii last year are you more comfortable taking on the field in big surf?
The last leg of the tour gives us the chance to perform in the big stuff, which I really enjoy. I'm definitely finding my feet after travelling to Hawaii for a few years now. I love the challenge of what the North Shore presents, it's a place that can be a bit of a bully at times, but you have to take the good with the bad. I hope all the events scheduled can get up and running, it's such a great end to the season.
Okay. We've talked tour, let's touch on some fun stuff. What's your favourite TV show at the moment?
My favourites at the moment would be, it’s so hard to choose, it's a tie between Greys Anatomy, Seinfeld and Two and A Half Men.
Last great movie you saw?
I watched "Free Willy" on the plane coming home from Europe and it was just epic. I cried. Hahaha
What song can't you get enough of at the moment?
This old Anastasia song that was on replay in the Roxy van in France, can't remember what its called, but it won't leave my brain.
Last move you saw in the surf that blew your mind?
Some of the surfing the guys are doing is just crazy. I still remember Jordy Smith's Rodeo flip on our Red Bull Mentawais trip and he did it like right in front of me and I was thinking, ‘oh shit, I'm going to get in the way of this amazing Rodeo...it's going to be all my fault’. Haha!
Cool Sal, good luck in Peru.
