Bethany Hamilton Is One Of The Best Women At Pipeline, Full Stop

“Commentators are the most annoying people in the world.”

For context, Bethany was venting her frustration with how during contests, there is often an overemphasis on her one-arm approach, rather than how she’s actually riding a wave. To be fair, having someone on a megaphone recount the shark attack that majorly impacted your life’s trajectory while trying to get scores does sound frustrating. Bethany wants, and deserves, to be recognized for just her surfing — no asterisk required.

Bethany’s commitment at bombing Pipeline in the 2022 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout made her a shoo-in to be named one of 20 women competing in the inaugural Vans Pipe Masters (December 8-20, don’t miss it!).  As Nathan Fletcher said on an October episode of The Drop, “When the waves get serious, she’s at the highest level of women’s surfing.

“Yeah, she does have one arm, and that does make it even more spectacular. But if you take away everybody’s arms and just look at her ride her board and sections she takes off on, it’s substantially gnarly.” 

Substantially seconded. Hit play above to learn why Bethany hates the no-priority rule, the scariest part about Pipeline, and why the shark attack noise should be buried in that grainy Hawaiian sand.