Notizia storica. Sophia Mulanovich è la prima donna “non USA, non Australia” a vincere il mondiale. Alla surfista peruviana i complimenti di tutta la Quiksilver Europe.

ROXY TEAM RIDER SOFIA MULANOVICH WINS
2004 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT ROXY PRO HAWAII;
BECOMES SECOND ROXY TEAM WORLD CHAMPION

Top Prize in Women’s Surfing Won by First Female Peruvian to Ever Win International Sports Championship Roxy Doubles Prize Purse for Top Four Finishers to Create Richest Women’s Final in Professional Surfing History (Huntington Beach, CA) November 24, 2004 —
Roxy, a division of Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK), and the leader in women’s surfing and boardriding lifestyle, today announced that Roxy Team Rider Sofia Mulanovich has been named the World Championship Tour (WCT) World Champion for 2004 after placing second at the Roxy Pro competition in Ali’i Beach Park on Oahu’s North Shore. Though one competition remains this year, it is now mathematically impossible for another athlete to surpass her, meaning Mulanovich, 21 years old, will finish 2004 as the top female surfer in the world; and become the first South American of either gender to capture a world surfing championship. She is also the first Peruvian athlete to ever win a national sports championship.
To raise the excitement level, Roxy executives Randy Hild and Danny Kwock doubled the prize purses for the top four event finishers mid-heat, bringing the total purse to $86,500 and making the 2004 Roxy Pro Hawaii the richest women’s final in professional surfing history. Mulanovich is now Roxy’s second world champion, after four-time world champion (1994-1997) Lisa Andersen made women’s surfing history and became a role model for a new generation of competitors.
“Sofia is an incredibly special surfer and a very special person, and Roxy and the Roxy Team are proud that she has captured the 2004 World Champion crown,” said Randy Hild, Senior Vice President of Roxy. “Since joining the Roxy Team, Sofia has demonstrated an iron-will, eager attitude and tremendous work ethic, and it really paid off for her this year. Plus, as young as she is, we know Sofia will be a major force to be reckoned with on the women’s professional circuit for many years to come.”
“I’m honestly still overwhelmed at the idea of becoming world champion, and I’d like to congratulate all my fellow surfers on a great year,” said Sofia Mulanovich, 2004 World Champion and Roxy Team Rider. “I am so grateful for the amazing support of my family and friends, and of course the whole team at Roxy. Lisa Andersen and Chelsea Georgeson have been real inspirations for me, and Roxy has created such a supportive and positive environment for all the girls.”
Mulanovich’s phenomenal year has included a first place finish at the ISA World Championship Title competition in Salinas, Ecuador; first at the WCT Roxy Pro in Tavarua, Fiji; first at the WCT Billabong Pro in Teahuppo, Tahiti; first at the WCT Roxy Pro in Anglet, France; and second at the Honda US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California. She placed second at the Roxy Pro Hawaii, where she was named WTC World Champion, with Australia’s Layne Beachley in first, Chelsea Georgeson of Australia in third, Maria Tita Tavares of Brazil in fourth.
Mulanovich’s 2004 World Championship title is the latest in a long string of accomplishments she has garnered during her still-young career. She was voted “Rookie of the Year” by the elite World Championship Tournament (WCT) for 2003, was voted as 2003’s Number 5 “Favorite Female Surfer” in the Surfer Magazine Poll Awards, won Surfer Magazine Video Awards’ “Best Wipeout” category the same year, and was the Peruvian National Champion four years in a row.