Justine Dupont
Justine Dupont (Bayonne, France) shattered glass ceilings and maybe a few male egos in January of 2023 when she snagged the wave of the day on a star-studded expedition to the rarest of unicorn breaks, the Cortes Bank.
Dupont became the first woman to try her hand at the near-mythical wave located in the open ocean, 100 miles from the Southern California coastline. Traveling on board an oil rig tender ship from San Diego laden with a small fleet of personal watercraft, Justine arrived at the break with a group of top big-wave riders filming for HBO’s 100 Foot Wave docuseries.
Treated to a full day of glassy conditions, Dupont bided her time until the biggest set of the day bore down on Bishop Rock, the shallowest part of the reef. Towed in by her partner on the day, Brazilian legend Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca, Justine picked a supremely precise line right down the steepest part of the massive wave face.
The resulting images made it crystal clear: Justine Dupont had earned the Big Wave Challenge trophy for the Biggest Wave of the year by a woman. Video by Johnny Decesare.
Photo: Frank Quirarte
Shaun Walsh and Nic Von Rupp
The rules dictate that the Biggest Wave Award will go to the surfer who successfully rides the largest wave of the year caught “by any means necessary,” which usually ends up being via a jet ski tow-in assist. The rules also contain a clause that allows for a tie to be called by the event director if two waves get identical votes by the judging panel and the available images are essentially a dead-heat photo finish.
There were two very worthy contenders—Shaun Walsh’s long wall at Jaws (aka Pe’ahi) in Maui, Hawaii, on January 22, 2023 (shot by Carlo Carbajal) and Nic Von Rupp’s tall peak at Nazaré, Portugal (shot by Tim Bonython on video and Fred Pompermayer on digital stills).
Both were massive and undulating, making it impossible to ascertain a clear-cut winner. Ultimately, the two waves were ruled as being ruled as tied for the title of the biggest of the year, with Walsh and Von Rupp sharing the title.