Taylor Jensen + Rachael Tilly Clinch 2024 World Longboard Titles In El Salvador
The duo from So-Cal won the ‘WSL Finals’-style surf offs in straight sets.
Taylor Jensen and Rachael Tilly have won their fourth and second World Titles respectively after the conclusion of the Surf City El Salvador Longboard Championships. The duo from Southern California topped the class in clean, three-to-five-foot rights at El Sunzal.
After three Championship events at Bells, Huntington Beach and the new KSWC pool in Abu Dhabi, the World Title-deciding event held in El Salvador resembled a ‘surf-off’ format not dissimilar to the WSL Finals. The top eight men and top eight women arrived in the slopey right point of El Sunzal, La Libertad last week. The event, which takes place over a day, was placed on hold until the 13th while awaiting more favorable conditions.
The opening matchups saw the lowest-seeds pitted against each other in three-man heats, where only the winner advanced. Man-on-man heats came after the third match, with losers facing instant elimination. The title deciding bout was a ‘best of three’ surf off between the highest seed and the advancing surfer from the penultimate matchup.
Honolua Blomfield threatened a Steph-esque repeat after a three-heat blitzkrieg that saw her matchup with the eventual champion, San Clemente’s Rachael Tilly. In 2015, Tilly became the youngest world champion in the history of professional surfing as a 17-YO. She was able to clinch her long-awaited second title after defeating 3x World Champion Soleil Errico in straight sets in the ‘best of three’ surfoff.
For Jensen earning a fourth World Longboard Title put him equal to his father-in-law, four-time World Longboard Champion, Nat Young. After nearly two decades of competing, Jensen, 40, joins an illustrious list of World Champs with more than three titles to their name, and has done so over a period that has seen a dramatic shift in the judging criteria. Jensen defeated last year’s World Champion Kai Sallas 2-0, banking north of 16+ points in both final heats.
“I’m still in shock, but a lot went into this one, so it feels good,” said Jensen. “It’s a crazy format. I’ve been down the bottom coming up, and to sit at the top and watch everybody surfing amazing all day just thinking I hope they run out of steam or something. I’m just glad I had some legs left, and it seemed like the other guys got tired. I had a lot of wanting-to-surf energy and just went out there, picked a good one, and got lucky right away. I try not to get emotional, but having my family here is everything.”
The winners received $15K for their victories in the Cryptocurrency-sponsored surf town.
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