Julian Wilson’s incredible run from the trial to the title has fallen just short with the Australian surfing veteran beaten in the final of the Gold Coast Pro.

The 36-year-old squared off against Filipe Toledo in the title decider which was a repeat of their 2015 final, also won by the Brazilian, and was edged in a thriller 17.60 to 17.20.

Fellow Australian Sally Fitzgibbons also went down swinging in the women’s final with Hawaii’s Bettylou Sakura Johnson claiming her first World Surf League trophy.

After almost four years away from the tour, Wilson claimed the sole wildcard for the main event at Burleigh Heads by winning the pre-competition trial.

He then surfed his way right through to Saturday’s final, beating the likes of Jack Robinson, Miguel Pupo and Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi in the semi-final.

Wilson and Toledo went blow for blow in the final, with the crowd packed on the headland roaring their approval for both veterans as they repeatedly took to the air.

In his first final for 2025 after taking last season off, Toledo, who scored a perfect 10 ride in his semi-final, set the benchmark early with an 8.53 which he backed up with a 9.07.

Former world No 2 Wilson kept hammering, with his top scoring waves of 8.80 and 8.40 coming in the back-end of the final in a heated finish.

But in the end there was no fairytale finish and fifth title for the Sunshine Coast product, who will compete in the Challenger Series next year.

“It was crazy with the rematch with Jules,” Toledo said. “With Jules coming back to the tour, winning the trial and going all the way it was such a special moment for him.”

Seeking her first CT title since a win at Rottnest Island in 2021, Fitzgibbons was also denied by the Hawaiian young gun.

The 34-year-old threw everything at her young rival, surfing a mammoth 13 waves, but fell short with a two-wave score of 7.83 to Sakura Johnson’s impressive tally of 15.33.

Fitzgibbons was on the back foot from the get-go, with her 20-year-old opponent posting a score of 8.50 on her first wave.

The Gerroa surfer went to the air four times, trying to stick a landing that would give her a score to put her back in contention, but she was unable to seal the deal.

It was Sakura Johnson’s second win of the day over a local hope after earlier eliminating top-ranked Australian Molly Picklum in the quarter-finals.

“This is the best feeling in the world, and I’m over the moon to have my first win here on the Gold Coast,” said Sakura Johnson, competing in her second final after bursting on to the scene as a 16-year-old.

“This is what winning feels like, and I want to keep winning. It’s taken a lot, so much hard work and a lot of patience and perseverance to put everything together and, yeah, just 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.”

Fitzgibbons outscored Erin Brooks in the semi-finals earlier in the day, with the Canadian wunderkind eliminating six-time Gold Coast champion and eight-time world title holder Stephanie Gilmore in the quarters.

With Gilmore’s former coach Jake Patterson in her corner, Brooks used superior wave selection to get the better of the Australian legend, who is due to return to the tour full-time next year.