On Saturday, Carissa Moore hoisted two gleaming trophies on Guincho Beach in Portugal, representing her triumphant ascent back atop the world of women’s pro surfing.
One for the Association of Surfing Professionals world championship and the other for the EDP Cascais Girls Pro meet title she won the same day.
But amid the crowning achievements, what many people want to talk about is, "the puppy."
"It is kind of (funny)," Moore said Monday on her return to the U.S. "Everybody is focused on the dog."
In a roundabout way, the yet-to-be-adopted puppy has become symbolic of what you might call Moore’s, well, dogged determination to regain the ASP world crown after a year’s separation.
In 2011, Moore became Hawaii’s first women’s world pro champion of the sport in 30 years and surfing’s youngest pro titlist ever when she won the ASP crown at age 18.
But after dropping to third in 2012, she re-dedicated herself to recapturing the title, no easy task amid the up-and-coming wave of young pros and accomplished veterans on the circuit. She put everything into demonstrating she was no one-year wonder.
Moore reviewed her approach to training and competition, improving her fitness with trainer Lisa Stewart, and reexamined her mental focus. And though she hardly lacked for incentives, she tossed in a self-described "fun" one that had little to do with point standings or money winnings but was designed to loosen things up when pressure mounted.
One that, for all her competitive zeal, underlines Moore’s down-to-earth side.
"My boyfriend (Luke Untermann) and I have wanted a puppy for a while now," Moore said. "It actually ended up being kind of a joke and a fun incentive between my dad (Chris) and I throughout the year. I was never really home enough, anyway, to take care of one, so it just seemed fitting to wait and make it something to strive for at the end (before coming home.) More than anything, it was something to lighten the mood and take some pressure off."
And you could measure the pressure in tons per square inch when she and 19-year-old Tyler Wright of Australia, who were 1-2 in the standings having won five of seven previous tour events between them, arrived in Portugal for the showdown.
So at the pre-meet press conference, Moore broke the tension by announcing, "If I win the world title my dad is going to buy me a puppy."
Moore said, "There was so much going on that I thought everybody needed a laugh."
The biggest smiles would belong to Moore and her Hawaii entourage. She won the championship when Wright was eliminated in the quarterfinals by 22-year-old Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia, and then took the meet, as well, by beating Fitzgibbons in the finals. Putting, as Moore termed it, "the cherry on top."
Ultimately, this was less about a puppy and more about making a defining statement to herself — and her competition. "It definitely feels good to win the second (world title) and prove to myself that it wasn’t just luck the first time," Moore said. "I feel like you have to step up your game and do things differently the second time around. And, I feel like I pushed myself and (put) my best effort forward. It really feels good."
As for potential names for the puppy, Moore said, "I love the name ‘Toughy.’ "
Altogether fitting, perhaps, coming from a future owner who has shown she knows something about persistence.
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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
