San Clemente big wave pro surfer Greg Long crowned world champion
By Andrea Swayne
Following a challenging and memorable year, San Clemente-based big wave professional surfer Greg Long topped off the season as this year’s Big Wave World Tour champion.
A crowning party, attended by Long’s friends, family, fellow surfers and industry representatives, was held last week at the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center (formerly the Surfing Heritage Foundation) in San Clemente. And although reigning BWWT champion Peter Mel could not attend, he phoned in to congratulate Long on his victory.
Long did not take the top spot on the podium at any of this season’s events but his combined points totals from second- and third-place finishes provided the consistency necessary to claim the title.
Long’s second-place finish at the Nelscott Reef Classic, third at the GoPro Maverick’s Invitational and second at the Billabong Pico Alto earned the points necessary to pass runner-up Jamie Sterling of Hawaii, 2155.5 points to 1160.7 for the 2012-2013 win.
His season was also marked by other memorable events, both exhilarating and frightening.
Not only was long featured on the silver screen as an actor and stuntman in the film Chasing Mavericks, he also survived a near drowning accident after a multi-wave hold down while surfing a massive swell at Cortes Bank.
“After nearly drowning at Cortes Bank in December I questioned whether or not I would ever return to a life of riding big waves. Two of the contests in this year’s world tour, Mavericks and Nelscott Reef, took place after my accident. The Mavericks contest within one month’s time,” Long said. “To me, winning this year’s world title represents something far greater than just being on top of the ratings at the end of the year. It represents a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to overcome one of the greatest adversities I have faced in my life in an effort to continue following my dream and passion.”
After enjoying the moment, Long is already looking forward to continuing to pursue his passion following a short break.
“At the moment, I am enjoying some time at home in San Clemente and have no immediate travel plans,” he said. “The next Big Wave World Tour event is to be held down in Punta Lobos, in Chile. The waiting period begins April 15 and runs till the end of June.”
Long is also a contender in the upcoming Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards scheduled for May 3 at The Grove in Anaheim.
He is nominated for the $50,000 XXL Ride of the Year for a massive ride at Jaws in Hawaii in October.
Discussion about this post