Tom Lowe And Justine Dupont Win 2026 Big-Wave Surfers Of The Year
A year after nearly dying, the 42-year-old Cornishman has capped a terrific comeback.
There are easier ways to win Surfer of the Year.
In June 2025, Tom Lowe fell at Teahupo’o, took several more waves on the head, and was found unconscious. Fellow surfers Vetea David and Sage Burke got him breathing again before he was transported to hospital.
If you’d chanced upon Tom Lowe in the lead-up to Mullaghmore’s monster swell late last year, you might’ve thought he was in no shape to surf waves of that size.
“On the way to check the surf, mate, I’d just break down in tears. I was vulnerable as fuck,” he recalled in a recent interview.
Fifteen months later, the 42-year-old from Cornwall has been named Men’s Surfer of the Year at the 2026 Big Wave Challenge, becoming the first British surfer to win the award.
The award comes after Lowe returned to the thing that has consumed much of his adult life: finding enormous lumps of ocean and furiously paddling into them.
His season was highlighted by December 18th at Mullaghmore, when one of the biggest swells to hit the Irish slab in years arrived. While much of the lineup was towing, Lowe paddled into one of the waves of the day, earning himself a Ride of the Year nomination alongside eventual winner Natxo Gonzalez.
“The fact that [Tom] Lowey paddled that day was really mind boggling,” said Conor Maguire. “I just don’t think I’d want to paddle on a day like that personally. The thought of getting a wave on the head just terrifies me. I was kinda blown away that Lowey and Robbie Goodwin and some other guy were paddling.
“I mean, if you paddled for one of the smaller waves of that day, which still would’ve been like 20 foot, you could miss that wave and turn around and watch someone get whipped into a 30 or 40 foot keg in front of you,” laughs Conor. “It’s a lot to deal with. That’s the biggest it’s ever been paddled. It was pretty groundbreaking to see the boys give it a crack. Lowey’s wave was huge and crazy, the tallest paddle wave ever there for sure.”
In short, Tom absolutely deserved it
“If this award represents anything, I guess it means after years of pouring my heart and soul into the place, I’ve opened the portal at Mullaghmore,” Lowe wrote afterward. “There’s no reason to tow those giant days anymore.”
Considering he was unconscious in a Tahitian lagoon last year, simply getting back onto a surfboard would’ve constituted a decent recovery.
Proud of ya Tom.
On the women’s side, Justine Dupont won Surfer of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Dupont was also nominated for Women’s Ride of the Year for a bomb at Mullaghmore and Women’s Biggest Wave for another enormous Nazaré effort, spreading her campaign across two of Europe’s most terrifying bodies of water.
She didn’t clean up every category. Izzi Gomez took Women’s Ride of the Year at Teahupo’o, Michelle Des Bouillons won Biggest Wave at Nazaré, and Zoe Chait earned the Women’s Paddle award at Todos Santos.
But the season-long crown stayed with Dupont.
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