Ethan Ewing Wins Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach

Ethan Ewing just won the 2023 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.

It was an event that he looked destined to win last year, though he fell to eventual comp winner Filipe Toledo in the semifinals. This year, he looked equally unstoppable. This year, he also met Filipe in the semis. But this year, things went differently. While the fellow Monster team rider put up a good fight, Ethan was a force, putting up a 15.93 to Fil’s 14.3.

In the first three heats of the day Ethan conserved his energy, catching a total of only 11 waves. But when he met fellow Aussie Ryan Callinan in the final, he changed his approach by catching nine waves and weaving his trustee DHD through the 2-foot surf with precision and style to spare. He’d beat Callinan 14.5 to 11.

The win puts Ethan at No. 4 in the world, safe from the mid-year cut and inching closer to the Final 5. But what makes Ethan’s win extra special (in addition to it being Ethan’s maiden win with the Monster claw)? It’s an event that his late mother, Helen Lambert, won exactly 40 years ago. Ethan will now have his name forever etched in the Bells trophy, alongside his mum.

“Tell your mum you love them,” Ethan said during the trophy ceremony. “You never know what life might throw at you.”