Stephanie Gilmore to return from hiatus and surf on next year’s world tour at age 38
Stephanie Gilmore may have achieved more than any other woman in surfing, and has spent recent years on sponsor-funded wave odysseys, playing guitar at gigs to adoring crowds, developing apparel collabs and launching her own tequila, but she will turn back the clock in 2026,The 37-year-old, who turns 38 in January, will return to full-time competition on the elite tour after accepting a season-long wildcard to surf the World Surf League’s Championship Tour,“The last few years, I’ve enjoyed time off to do some exploration and other things, but I’m looking forward to heading back to the CT in 2026, and seeing how I compete against the young talent on the tour,” she said,Gilmore made an appearance on tour in May, when she was given a wildcard at the Gold Coast Pro,She progressed to the quarter-finals by overcoming defending world champion Caitlin Simmers, but was ultimately defeated by another teenager in Canadian Erin Brooks.
“I’m mostly excited just to see how I go in these challenges again,” Gilmore said.“When you step away from competing full-time, you can really switch off, and it can be hard to get back into that headspace, but I’m excited to feel that energy and that challenge again.”Gilmore has won eight world titles, more than any other surfer, and her most recent success came in 2022.That year her improbable finals victory took her past Layne Beachley’s record of seven global crowns.But she withdrew from the tour in 2024 saying she wanted to pursue other passions, which have included playing guitar with rock group Spiderbait, and travelling the world for surf documentaries.
Gilmore remains a woman in demand, and signed a new eight-year, multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Rip Curl even after she has stopped competing.“I’ve had incredible opportunities over the last few years, and it’s actually been busier than I could have imagined,” Gilmore said.She will be far from favourite next year in the season that begins at Bells Beach in Victoria in April.In her absence a new generation of surfers has emerged, including 22-year-old defending world champion Molly Picklum from the NSW Central Coast.“It will be nice to get back on tour and have a schedule mapped out for the year.
It’s been fun, but I’m looking forward to getting back into a bit more of a routine, so we’ll see where that leads me.”
Only Labour could turn victory into defeat | Letters
I despair of Labour’s ability to turn an election victory into a rumbling disaster (Briefing war spotlights relationships between three of Labour’s most senior figures, 12 November).To see the kerfuffle over whether or not Wes Streeting has leadership ambitions and to see that become a huge distraction from everything that should be dominating political thinking is awful. I want everyone who has a role in this government to distinguish themselves from their predecessors. They can do this by showing that they understand their purpose: to act only in the interests of the country. Unless they do this, public confidence in politicians will continue to plummet
Chinese spying amounts to interference in UK democracy, minister says, after MI5 warns MPs – as it happened
Jarvis says MI5 issued an espionage alert earlier today to MPs, peers and parliamentary staff. (See 12.18pm.)He urges all parliamentarians to read it.He says China is trying to contact MPs and peers to get sensitive information about parliament
Tories and Reform spout imaginary numbers as they fight for attention | John Crace
You would think we were in the final three months of a general election campaign, not three and a half years out. Everywhere you look there’s a party leader giving a press conference. Demanding attention from a public that just wants to be given a break.Even the news channels are losing interest. Sending along a reporter more on the off-chance someone says something idiotic, than in any expectation of anyone committing hard news
Starmer pleads for government to unite in fightback after difficult week
Keir Starmer has warned senior ministers and officials to stop briefing against one another and leaking details of the budget as he pleaded for his embattled government to unite.The prime minister told his weekly cabinet meeting that last week’s political turmoil had distracted from voters’ priorities, and ministers needed to work together and start delivering rather than talking about the government itself.His warning came after a turbulent week during which his government was engulfed by accusations of briefing against the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and reports of a major pre-budget U-turn.The prime minister’s spokesperson said on Tuesday: “He said distractions meant our focus shifted from where it mattered most, working every day in the service of the British people.“The prime minister said next week’s budget would prioritise rebuilding the economy, showing what the government stands for
‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school
It is the hectoring tone, the “jeering quality”, in Nigel Farage’s voice today that brings it all back for Peter Ettedgui. “He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers,” Ettedgui says of his experience of being in a class with Farage at Dulwich college in south London.Ettedgui, 61, is a Bafta- and Emmy-winning director and producer whose credits include Kinky Boots, McQueen and Super/Man: the Christopher Reeve Story.Back then he was a 13-year-old boy at a loss as to how to handle what he describes as a sudden and inexplicable intrusion of antisemitism in his life.This is the first time Ettedgui has spoken in such detail of his alleged experiences, but he is not the only one
Most Reform UK voters would back wealth tax on very rich, poll suggests
Most potential Reform UK voters would back a one-off wealth tax on the very rich, polling suggests, with about three-quarters supporting windfall taxes on energy companies and banks.The figures, compiled by the Best for Britain thinktank ahead of next week’s budget, indicate that Nigel Farage might be out of step with many of his supporters.Farage has consistently pushed back against the idea of a wealth tax, arguing that higher earners and other rich people should not be targeted in case it makes them more likely to leave the UK.And while Farage is often critical of big business, the only plan for a windfall tax set out by Reform so far involves targeting renewable energy companies.According to a survey of more than 3,000 people who are considering voting for Reform, carried out by YouGov, 61% would support a one-off tax on UK households with net wealth above £10m
WH Smith CEO quits after accounting error that wiped almost £600m off value
Harvard to investigate Larry Summers’s Epstein ties as he exits OpenAI board
What is Cloudflare – and why did its outage take down so many websites?
Cloudflare says ‘incident now resolved’ after outage causes error messages across the internet – as it happened
Australia enter Ashes series with transition abruptly forced upon an ageing squad | Geoff Lemon
Stokes wants to be one of ‘lucky few’ England captains to claim Ashes victory in Australia