Bettylou Sakura Johnson has her breakthrough.
The 20-year-old Haleiwa native put monthslong struggles aside to make the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro in Queensland, Australia, her maiden victory on the World Surf League Championship Tour on Saturday.
She outpointed Australian surfing legend Sally Fitzgibbons 15.33 to 7.83 in a dominant final pairing, then raised the Hawaiian flag in front of thousands of people at Burleigh Heads, a renowned spot in head-to-head surfing lore.
Johnson was 13th in the CT women’s standings heading into the event and needed to make something happen to stay above the midseason cut line ahead of the Margaret River Pro later this month. She’d been eliminated before the quarterfinals in the first three CT stops of the season, including the Lexus Pipe Pro in her backyard, and was knocked out in the quarters of the Surf City El Salvador Pro and the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in the last two events.
This one was different almost from the start as she posted some of the highest heat totals all the way through.
"This is the best feeling in the world," Johnson said, per the WSL. "I'm over the moon to have my first win here on the Gold Coast. This is what winning feels like, and I want to keep winning. I'm super stoked to get this feeling, and I'm so grateful for everything. It's taken a lot, so much hard work and a lot of patience and perseverance to put everything together. This year was a really hard year for me, dealing with injuries and a whole bunch of other things, but super happy to just pull it together."
She got 10,000 CT points for her win and now ranks sixth among women on tour.
Johnson, a full-time CT participant since 2022, had previously made the final in a CT event just once, at the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach in 2024. She came into the year with high hopes, however.
Johnson posted an 8.5 out of 10 on her first ride in the final.
Fitzgibbons, a 17-year WSL veteran, was in her first final since 2021.
“I wanted to get it together so bad in that final,” Fitzgibbons said. “It's been a fight and a grind the last few years, but I really want to be here and my deep desire is to keep surfing for this country, for all you guys, my family down here, my friends. This means the world to me, and I just want to fight for it. It was nearly the best birthday present for my dad down there, but today was Betty's day.”
Johnson defeated France’s Vahine Fierro 12.33-7.00 in the semifinals — in which Fierro was penalized for priority interference while Johnson tried to begin a wave — and Molly Picklum of the U.S. 15.33-13.37 in the quarterfinals.
“I really wanted to just enjoy it all,” Johnson said. “Soak in the moment and yeah, just know that I can do it, and trust myself, in the abilities, once I get the chance to get the wave. But yeah, I'm so happy.”
She is the second Hawaii native to win a women's CT event this year, after Kauai's Gabriela Bryan triumphed at the Surf City El Salvador Pro.
Filipe Toledo of Brazil won the men’s event, 17.60 to Australian Julian Wilson’s 17.20.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.