Perfect 10s and Record-Breaking Performances Highlight 2025 World Para Surfing Championship
By ISA Staff
The 2025 ISA World Para Surfing Championship delivered record-breaking performances in powerful four-to-six-foot surf, as Victoria Feige (CAN) and Sarah Bettencourt (USA) each earned their way into elite company with five and six world titles respectively. Three Perfect 10-point rides highlighted an event that saw France capture a historic third straight team championship with 12 total medals.
France made history at the 2025 ISA World Para Surfing Championship in Oceanside, California, becoming the first nation to win three consecutive team gold medals while equaling the United States’ all-time total in the process. Across two days of competition in building three-to-six-foot surf at the north side of Oceanside pier, 16 world champions were crowned in performances that included three Perfect 10-point rides and multiple record-breaking achievements.
France’s dominance was emphatic, securing 12 total medals—five gold, two silver, two bronze, and three copper—in their most decisive victory to date. The United States claimed silver for the third consecutive year, while Brazil returned to the podium with bronze and Australia took copper.
Records Fall in Elite Competition
Canadian Victoria Feige etched her name alongside para surfing legend Bruno Hansen (DEN) by claiming her sixth world title, tying the all-time record. Despite battling cancer for the past three years, the 40-year-old rose to victory against the largest field her classification has seen to date.
“It doesn’t really seem real, I’m honored,” Feige said. “It’s been such a wild ride. My first ISA was 2016. I saw Mono [Mark Stewart] ripping and it really inspired me to try to get better. And yeah, I’m just trying to keep up with the boys.”
Retired Marine Captain Sarah Bettencourt (USA) claimed her fifth world title with an emphatic victory in Women’s Prone 1, equaling Feige’s previous record. The 42-year-old mother of two posted excellent scores of 8.00 and 8.43 on her final two waves for a 16.43 total that left competitors needing a combination of scores to catch her.
“I knew I had the lead, but I really wanted to cement it because I knew my competition out there is fierce,” Bettencourt said. “All these women are amazing competitors and they can come back and get me. So I knew that I had to stay on it.”
Perfect 10s Highlight Historic Australian Battle
The men’s Prone 1 final delivered one of the most spectacular showdowns in championship history, as Australian teammates Joel Taylor and Kai Colless each earned Perfect 10-point rides while battling for gold. Taylor, a 45-year-old former professional bodyboarder, reclaimed the crown he first won in 2023 with a 19.83 heat total—the second-highest ever recorded at the championship.
Taylor’s perfect score came through pure technique, featuring impeccable lines on a long left with flowing carves and multiple critical turns. Colless, just 18 years old, earned his perfect 10 with what many called the best wave in championship history, delivering two huge vertical hits including a massive free-fall section.
“I had some good scores, and then Joel had me comboed with like 14 minutes left, so I just thought I may as well look around and find one good wave,” Colless said. “I literally don’t even really know what happened, to be honest. I hit it and I fell so high up and landed, and then I saw another section and hit that one.”
The Australians finished ahead of six-time world champion Bruno Hansen (DEN), who returned to competition for the first time since their rise in 2023.
Breakthrough Victories End Long Pursuits
After multiple runner-up finishes, several athletes finally broke through to claim their first world titles. Meira Nelson (HAW) defeated three-time world champion Alana Nichols (USA) in the women’s Sit division, while 15-year-old Valentine Moskoteoc (FRA) ended three consecutive years of placing second to claim the Women’s VI 1 gold medal.
“I’m over the moon right now,” Nelson said. “It’s about time this happened. Alana and Alina [Garbuzov] are two of the most fierce women in my division. We’ve been doing this for so long, been chasing each other, but to win it at the ISA for the first time, everything came together.”
Thomas Da Silva (FRA) also ended a three-year streak of silver medals by claiming his first world title in Men’s VI 1. Despite being completely blind, the 24-year-old was able to charge open faces and carve through multiple turns throughout the event.
“I’m so happy, I was full gas when I was paddling,” Da Silva said. “I work every day on my surfing, my physical preparation in Martinique, in Basque Country, actually everywhere in the world with my friends.”
Puerto Rico’s Alelí Medina claimed her fourth consecutive world title in dominant fashion, posting the event’s first Perfect 10 in the Women’s VI 2 final. The 16-year-old left competitors needing a combination of waves after following her perfect ride with an excellent 8.00.
“I’m holding back tears right now, I’m so happy,” Medina said. “All the training I put into this, it’s finally paying off. These past four years have been really intense, just going day to day, training every single day, really hard, physically exhausted, and this is what I’ve been looking for.”
Multiple Champions Add to Medal Collections
Several athletes continued building their legacies with additional titles. Llywelyn ‘Sponge’ Williams (WAL), Davi Teixeira (BRA), and Medina each claimed their fourth world championships, while Guillaume Colin (FRA), Sarah Almagro (ESP), Pierrot Gagliano (FRA), Luciano Nem Silveira (BRA), and Laurie Phipps (FRA) earned their second titles.
Colin’s men’s Sit victory came by the narrowest of margins, with just 0.20 separating gold from bronze. Phipps backed up her 2023 world title in Women’s Stand 2, winning on a board made by her father, an internationally renowned shaper.
“It feels very special to win on a board made by my dad,” Phipps said. “I absolutely love this board. It’s my favorite board my dad’s ever made me and I definitely felt the magic on it today.”
First-time champions included 15-year-old Davi Lima (BRA) in his event debut, and 48-year-old Kenjiro Ito (JPN), who claimed victory in his eighth championship appearance and fifth Stand 2 final with a last-minute buzzer-beater in the final heat of the event.
Paralympic Push Continues
Multiple athletes emphasized the importance of para surfing’s push toward Paralympic inclusion, with the 2032 Brisbane Games representing the sport’s next opportunity.
“We want to showcase that to the world in the Paralympics and our next best bet is at home, in Australia, in Brisbane,” Taylor said. “Hopefully we can do it. I’ll be 52 years old but I’m going to be doing everything I can to be there and represent my country on the bigger stage.”
The championship featured athletes from more than 20 nations competing across multiple classifications, demonstrating the global growth and elite level of adaptive surfing.
RESULTS
Women’s VI 1
Gold – Valentine Moskoteoc (FRA)
Silver – Marta Paço (POR)
Bronze – Ingrid Medina (BRA)
Women’s Prone 1
Gold – Sarah Bettencourt (USA)
Silver – Paloma Oñate (ESP)
Bronze – Grace Kennedy (AUS)
Copper – Solange Balay (FRA)
Women’s Sit
Gold – Meira Nelson (HAW)
Silver – Alana Nichols (USA)
Bronze – Alina Garbuzov (HAW)
Women’s Stand 2
Gold – Laurie Phipps (FRA)
Silver – Zoe Smith (ENG)
Bronze – Gaëlle Habri (FRA)
Copper – Maryele Cardoso (BRA)
Team
Gold – France
Silver – USA
Bronze – Brazil
Copper – Australia
Men’s Sit
Gold – Guillaume Colin (FRA)
Silver – Jeff Munson (USA)
Bronze – Chris Oberle (USA)
Copper – Juan Manuel Camacho Solano (CRC)
Men’s VI 1
Gold – Thomas Da Silva (FRA)
Silver – Kirk Watson (AUS)
Bronze – Ben Neumann (GER)
Copper – Elias ‘Figue’ Diel (BRA)
Men’s VI 2
Gold – Pierrot Gagliano (FRA)
Silver – Luis Nicolas Medina (CHI)
Bronze – Roy Calderon (CRC)
Copper – Jack Jackson (AUS)
Women’s VI 2
Gold – Alelí Medina (PUR)
Silver – Melissa Reid (ENG)
Bronze – Ling Pai (CAN)
Copper – Sarah Gibson (AUS)
Open Stand 3
Gold – Luciano Nem Silveira (BRA)
Silver – Eric Dargent (FRA)
Bronze – Naomichi Katsukura (JPN)
Copper – Stella Papetti (ITA)
Men’s Prone 2
Gold – Davi Teixeira (BRA)
Silver – Jose Martinez (USA)
Bronze – Mathius Vanderhoogth (CRC)
Copper – Cliff Gralton (AUS)
Women’s Prone 2
Gold – Sarah Almagro (ESP)
Silver – Beatrice Duran (FRA)
Bronze – Celine Roulliard (FRA)
Copper – Hannah Dines (ENG)
Men’s Prone 1
Gold – Joel Taylor (AUS)
Silver – Kai Colless (AUS)
Bronze – Cleuson Soares (BRA)
Copper – Bruno Hansen (DEN)
Men’s Kneel
Gold – Llywelyn ‘Sponge’ Williams (WAL)
Silver – Dijackson Santos (BRA)
Bronze – Juan Martín Díaz Martínez (MEX)
Copper – Maxime Cabanne (FRA)
Women’s Kneel
Gold – Victoria Feige (CAN)
Silver – Vera Quaresma (BRA)
Bronze – Emma Dieters (AUS)
Copper – Emmanuelle Blanchet (FRA)
Men’s Stand 1
Gold – Davi Lima (BRA)
Silver – Ant Smyth (RSA)
Bronze – Suguru Nara (JPN)
Copper – Camilo Abdula (POR)
Men’s Stand 2
Gold – Kenjiro Ito (JPN)
Silver – Morgan Galeffi (ITA)
Bronze – Nachman Yariv Balulu (ISR)
Copper – JP Veaudry (RSA)