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Jaws Big Wave Championships at famed Pe'ahi surf break

Jaws Big Wave Championships at famed Pe'ahi surf break

Date: 2019-12-20

PE'AHI, Maui, Hawaii and local surfers Paige Alms (HAW) and Billy Kemper (HAW) won the World Surf League (WSL)cbdMD Jaws Big Wave Championshipsin 30-to-50 foot waves, at the famed Pe'ahi surf break on the north shore of Maui, Hawaii.

The Maui natives swept the event for a second time in their respective careers with Alms earning a historic third victory and Kemper an unprecedented fourth Jaws Challenge title - defending his 2018 win.

"I'm so happy and stoked - pretty excited for a cocktail (laughs)," said Alms. "It was some super challenging conditions today. As soon as I paddled out in my first heat the wind was here and I knew the Maui glass was on. To do it three times is all a blur and I'm pretty baffled at the moment. I try to make smart decisions out here and I obviously got pretty beat up at the end of that first wave.' She said, adding, "You're putting your body and life on the line to ride these wave but when you successfully ride one nothing beats it."

The ocean came to life after a slow 20-minute start that Maui's Alms was able to scratch into and drop down the critical face before being swallowed by a mountain of white water. Fellow Maui native and one of the crowd favorites Annie Reickert made her incredible Big Wave debut at just age 18 and stunned those in attendance to earn a third-place finish behind runner-up Felicity Palmateer (AUS) who threw herself over the ledge into death-defying drops to put on a showcase throughout her performances.

The men's side also proved historic as Maui's own Kemper claimed an unprecedented fourth victory, going back-to-back once more, at his home break of Pe'ahi - winning the event in 2015, 2016 and 2018 previously. The 29-year-old put on a showcase at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons and carried that momentum into a dominant performance with the day's highest heat total, a 21.26 (out of a possible 30), in the Final to defend his title.