Torquay’s Harry Mann will compete in his first ever Rip Curl Pro after securing a wildcard entry for the competition earlier this week.
The local surfer claimed the crucial win at the Victorian Trials last Monday held at Winki Pop at Bells Beach.
The 25-year-old progressed his way from the first round of the event to take down four different former winners across the day to make the final.
Mann faced Barwon Head’s Billy Harrison in what was a hard-fought final battle, with only .16 of a point separating Mann and the 18-year-old at the final siren.
Mann said being able to compete in the Rip Curl Pro is a dream come true.
“This has been a childhood dream of mine since I was a kid on the beach watching Kelly Slater ring the Bell,” Mann said.
The born-and-bred Torquay man has followed the Bells Beach event since he was just 10-years-old.
“I got second back in 2014 and never thought I was going get in after that, so it’s such a relief to get it done and make the main round,” he said.
Mann finished with a heat total of 9.60 points out of a possible 20, while Harrison finished runner-up with 9.44 points.
The Rip Curl Pro is the second event on the 2019 World Surf League World Tour calender and is the longest running world championship level contest on the World Tour.
The last Australian man to win the Rip Curl Pro was 30-year-old Matt Wilkinson in 2016.
The Rip Curl Pro kicked off this week and run until 27 April at Bells Beach.
