Steven Sawyer and Alice Lemoigne Get Walk-off Wins at Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic 

It was a day of firsts on Hudayriat Island. The World Surf League’s inaugural competition in the United Arab Emirates wavepool built in the style of Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch concluded under a warm desert night. It was all good vibes for a 27-year-old who got her second win on the Longboard Tour, and a former World Champion won his first event win in six years. 

After more than a decade on tour, Alice Lemoigne of Reunion Island was ecstatic after winning her second event. Lemoigne, who was runner-up to the world title in 2021, went against her best friend Zoe Grospiron in the final.  At these pool contests, surfers get two rides per direction and take the highest score from each wave. Lemoigne’s second right was her money-maker, a long, silky-smooth noseride for a 9.43. she got at least a 9-point ride in all her heats except the opener and scored 17.26 points in the final.

On the men’s side, it was a long time between drinks for South Africa’s Steven Sawyer, the 2018 World Longboard Champion, who had not made a final since 2019. Raised with his back to the wall at Jeffrey’s Bay, the goofyfoot is well-versed going backside. Fun fact: In 2016 he competed at J-Bay on the Championship Tour as an event wildcard (he lost in the Elimination Round to Matt Wilkinson). 

In Abu Dhabi, however, it was tube riding that proved the point of difference. Sawyer parked himself in the tube on the right and the left, getting high 8s for the show. He took the win over stellar Hawaiian John Michael Van Hohenstein 17.44 to 14.70. Scroll below for a collection of moments from the event’s final day. The Longboard Tour’s next stop is in El Sunzal, El Salvador, for the tour championships from October 9-13.