‘I don’t want to be lonely’: The unsung heroes who made Molly Picklum a World Surfing Champion

The 22-year-old Central Coast local spends more time apart from her family and friends during the World Surfing League season than with them.

Picklum is used to being alone. Alone in the water, alone in the gym, even travelling on her own with her family and friends rarely joining her on circuit.

But Picklum said having a tight inner circle and support network was the key to her success this season.

“I learned the importance of that this year, it’s an individual sport but the thing is humans are made for connection and I want to have (that) doing it,” Picklum said.

“I don’t want to be lonely while I’m doing it. So I was able to build that this year and I probably think that is where my success came from.

“It’s about having fun and not taking life too seriously, there are a lot of moments that you got to just let go of and rise above and having good people and positive energy around at all times makes it easy to override the hard times.

“They put in nearly the same amount of hours or sometimes honestly more to try and limit the amount of energy I’ve got to spend on different things, so they should hold that trophy as high as I do or if not even higher.”

Her support network aren’t often on the beach cheering her on.

Picklum’s mum didn’t head to Fiji for the finals series. But to the champion that is just part of the sport.

“It’s one of the hardest things, the sacrifices you make but when you want something you don’t see the challenges, you just go for it and they come and you just go over them,” Picklum said.

“It’s just extra motivation to go and win and bring something home to share with everyone.”

And after realising she had won the title, in which she came from behind to win the final two heats against Caroline Marks, all Picklum wanted to do was celebrate with her team with her mum being the first call.

“She was just screaming, there were no words, it’s just completely emotional,” Picklum said.

The pair were reunited when Picklum landed at Sydney airport on Thursday afternoon.

“It was hard, because there were so many people there and you were hugging and you wanted to give her the moment,” Picklum said.

“I’m excited just to take her out for dinner and just show her kind of intimately and quietly have that moment. I think that is when it will sink in.”

Another big change Picklum made was parting ways with long time coach Glenn Hall and opting to not have a set coach but instead pull on local knowledge at each break around the world.

“It’s just bringing fresh energy to keep it nice and fresh throughout the whole year and I feel like I’m young and I just wanted to try and see what was our there for me, see where my brain would go and with every bit of change can create a difference in your life,” Picklum said.

“It paid off for me, it’s all been part of the journey. It’s not just this year that kind of made me world champion, it’s everything that’s unfolded and the countless people that have been part of that.”

The feeling of winning, of being named the best in the world, has only made Picklum more hungry to do it again.

More Coverage

How Molly Picklum went from Shelly Beach to world domination

Matthew Benns and Tom Boswell

“It’s the feeling of sharing it over and over with your loved ones, that is the feeling that I love personally and that makes us want to do it again. That gives me fire. It’s not just winning – it is being at the top and bringing everyone with me.”

The trophy, which is so big that the Fiji airport security staff almost didn’t let Picklum bring it home on the plane, will also serve as a constant reminder that anything is possible.

“I plan to make a special place in my house and put it somewhere that I can always walk past and just remember what a year it’s been and also the moments that have come with it,” Picklum said.