Stab High Japan Debutant Joins Curren, Medina + Smith On Prestigious ‘Double Club’ List
Dane Henry claims B2B ISA World Junior and World Surf Games titles as Australia secures team gold in El Salvador.
With the CT taking a break until April 2026, surf fans are going to need to find a new hobby or get passionate about pro surfing on a more grassroots level. Enter the ISA World Surfing Games, spearheaded by Reef co-founder and wide-brim hat aficionado Fernando Aguerre, which just wrapped its ninth and final day of competition in El Salvador.
Australia’s team ‘The Irukandjis’ named after the lethal jellyfish native to far north Queensland, emerged as the deadliest on ground after Dane Henry, a Stab High Japan debutant, took out the Mens gold, while Morgan Cibillic and Sally Fitzgibbons secured bronze.
Along with solid performances from Ellie Harrison (5th), Milla Coco-Brown (11th) and Callum Robson (19th), the Australians also took the top spot in the teams division, celebrating in their iconic bukake-adjacent ring of sting.
As the reigning ISA World Junior Champion, Dane Henry is the first surfer in the modern era to achieve back-to-back wins at the World Juniors and World Surf Games, and did so in spectacular fashion, with huge airs and turns that left Morgan Cibillic and Douglas Silva (not to be confused with 11x World Party Champion, Doug Silva) in combination, and Olympic gold medallist Kauli Vaast (who placed second) requiring an excellent score.
The 19-year-old now joins a very prestigious and short list. Tom Curren won the 1982 WSG while still holding the 1980 junior crown. Since then, only Gabriel Medina and Jordy Smith have managed the junior/WSG double.
“That is a crazy club to be a part of,” Henry told the ISA. “The whole time I had belief in myself that I could do it. My surfing’s been feeling spot on. Competing against guys like Kauli Vaast, Morgan [Cibilic] and Douglas [Silva], you’ve got to pull out the best. I have a really special connection with this place and this competition now. I felt really in my element, which definitely pushed me through and helped me get the win.”
The women’s final was dominated by surfers from Spanish-speaking countries. Sally Fitzgibbons was the only exception, who placed third behind Spain’s Janire Gonzalez-Etxabarri (ESP) and Portugal’s Yolanda Hopkins. In a breakthrough performance, Janire, who qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics by finishing 15th in her WSG debut last year, bettered the historic copper medal earned in 2024 by her teammate and fellow Olympian Nadia Erostarbe (ESP), relying on her powerful forehand combinations to get the job done at La Bocana.
“It’s like I’m sleeping in a dream and all of this is not real,” Gonzalez-Etxabarri said. “I just have no words. I’m super happy and I don’t know what to say. I was paddling out super happy and just grateful to be in the Final and to be able to maybe get the gold. I made it, but I just wanted to enjoy my heat and show my surfing. I wasn’t thinking about the gold, I was thinking about wave-by-wave and just showing my surfing. I’m super happy.”
RESULTS
Team
Gold – Australia
Silver – Peru
Bronze – Spain
Copper – France
Men
Gold – Dane Henry (AUS)
Silver – Kauli Vaast (FRA)
Bronze – Morgan Cibilic (AUS)
Copper – Douglas Silva (BRA)
WomenGold – Janire Gonzalez-Etxabarri (ESP)
Silver – Yolanda Hopkins (POR)
Bronze – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
Copper – Arena Rodriguez (PER)
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