COVID-19 replacement Bethany Hamilton is through to the round of 16 at Pipeline ©Getty Images

One-armed surfer Bethany Hamilton made the most of a last-minute opportunity to compete in the first World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour event of the season - coming through the elimination round on the iconic Pipeline wave.

The Hawaii native, who lost an arm in a shark attack 18 years ago at the age of 13, was invited to take part after seven-time WSL champion Stephanie Gilmore was ruled out with COVID-19.

Put in an elimination heat with American Caroline Marks and Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy, Hamilton comfortably advanced in second place with a two-wave score of 8.76.

Hamilton was slow to get going, but produced a quickfire double off waves breaking from opposite directions to move into the top two.

Marks only scored 3.70, while Hennessy amassed 10.73 points.

Fellow American Courtney Conlogue joined Marks in being eliminated, finishing behind local surfers Luana Silva and Gabriela Bryan in the other elimination heat.

This is the first full-length women's competition at Pipeline, off the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii, to ever feature on the WSL Championship Tour.

Reigning WSL and Olympic champion Carissa Moore, who is from Hawaii, was among those to reach the round of 16 direct from the opening heats, not needing to face the elimination round.

Australia's Tyler Wright received the best score, 11.83, while local surfers Malia Manuel and Bettylou Sakura Johnson - who is just 16 - also amassed impressive totals.