Legendary Surfers Set for Heritage Series at Lowers

The famed cobblestone break of Lower Trestles will host the world's best surfers for the upcoming Hurley Pro and Swatch Women's Pro and also see a return of the WSL Heritage Series with a women's heat and a men's expression session.

Heritage Heat Preview

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A look at the legends set to hit the lineup for the Heritage Heat and men's Expression Session at the Hurley Pro at Trestles.

The series, designed to celebrate and honor icons of the sport, will feature the first-ever women's Heritage event as three legendary World Champions, Layne Beachley, Lisa Andersen and Sofia Mulanovich, take to the water during the Swatch Women's Pro for a historic battle.

Beachley, from Manly, New South Wales, Australia, won a record-breaking seven World Titles during her career, and is the only surfer, male or female, to claim six consecutive titles, which she did between 1998 and 2003.

Andersen, who at the age of 14 moved to Huntington Beach, Calif., to pursue her dream of becoming a professional surfer, is a four-time World Champion and earned four consecutive World Titles from 1994 to 1997 before retiring from competition in 2002.

Mulanovich from Lima, Peru, became the first South American to win a World Title when she became World Champion in 2004. Mulanovich competed on the Championship Tour until 2012 when she retired.

"Being invited to surf in the Heritage Series with Lisa and Layne is a huge honor for me; it's going to be a lot of fun," Mulanovich said.

The event will also include a Heritage Series Expression Session where five legendary male surfers will showcase their extraordinary skills during the Hurley Pro at Trestles. The heat will feature surfing icons Shaun Tomson, Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew, Simon Anderson, Michael Ho and Cheyne Horan. They will be supported on the broadcaster by Mark "MR" Richards, Peter "PT" Townend and Ian "Kanga" Cairns.

"Watching these surfers at Lowers in the Heritage Series will be a trip down memory lane as these living legends show us that the stoke for surfing never dies," said Cairns.

1978 World Champion Bartholomew from Australia's Gold Coast served as the President of the ASP (now WSL), has been involved in the sport of surfing for nearly 40 years and is a pioneer of professional surfing.

Tomson, South African surfing legend and 1977 World Champion, retired from the professional circuit in 1989 but remains a prominent figure in the global surfing scene, adding environmentalist, filmmaker, author and businessman to his list of talents.

I would say the two most inspirational surfers were Shaun Tomson and Michael Ho

"I would say the two most inspirational surfers were Shaun Tomson and Michael Ho," said Bartholomew. "The way these guys surfed Sunset Beach and Pipeline, plus their tube-riding skills at Backdoor and Off the Wall, was totally inspirational. They had courage and knew when to take calculated risk."

Anderson, originally from Narrabeen, Australia, is a talented shaper who developed the Thruster, a three-fin board design, and went on to win three events in 1981 on the thruster, finishing third in the world that year.

Ho, from Oahu, Hawaii, has a fearless approach to big surf, a Pipe Masters Champion and is a two-time winner of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing (1983 and 1985).

Horan, from Bondi Beach, Australia, is best known for his early aerial surfing, big wave charging, unconventional equipment and for being four-time runner-up for the World Title.

The Heritage Series Heat and Expression Session will have opportunity to run at any point during the competition window.

Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) and Ian Crane (USA) have earned the wildcards for the men's event after winning the Hurley Pro Trials in July. Ohhara will face three-time WSL Champion Mick Fanning (AUS) and defending event winner Jordy Smith (ZAF) in Heat 5 of Round 1 and Crane will take on ratings leader Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Adam Melling (AUS) in Heat 6.

For the women, Bethany Hamilton has been selected as the Swatch Women's Pro wildcard and will take on Jeep Leader Courtney Conlogue (USA) and Brazilian Silvana Lima in Round 1, Heat 3.

The Hurley Pro and Swatch Women's Pro Trestles hold a competitive window of September 9 - 20, 2015 and will be webcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and on the WSL mobile app.